‘The Office' Star Reveals When They Knew Steve Carrell Would Leave the Show

Yahoo

a day ago

Dunder Mifflin's Scranton office struggled to find its footing without Michael Scott at the helm — and so did the cast of The Office.
In a recent interview with Josh Peck on his Good Guys podcast, Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight Schrute on the 2005 hit, admitted to the chaos that followed Steve Carrell's departure from his role as the regional manager of the beloved paper company.
"When Steve left, then it was a little bit chaotic of trying to figure out the tone of the show and who's the lead and, how are we telling these stories without, you know, the comic engine of the show, which is Michael Scott?" Wilson said.
But no one was surprised when Carrell left the show to focus on other projects after spending six years starring as the lead on The Office. After leaving the show, Carrell went on to star in hit movies such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Get Smart, and Crazy, Stupid, Love.
"We knew it was coming for a long time," Wilson said.
Though it wasn't completely surprising, Carrell's departure from the show on "Goodbye, Michael" was still a bittersweet tear-jerker.
"There actually wasn't a dry eye in the house. It was really sad. It was very difficult to make comedy when there was a heaviness hanging over the proceedings," Wilson had previously said to Entertainment Weekly.
As for Wilson, his career has seen many successes since The Office ended. He's taken on roles in Adventure Time, The Meg, and Star Trek: Discovery, among others. He also co-founded Lide Haiti, an education nonprofit benefitting Haitian girls in underserved communities.
'The Office' Star Reveals When They Knew Steve Carrell Would Leave the Show first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 25, 2025