The Office at 20: Steve Carell's Subtle Performance That Made Michael Scott So Great
Michael Scott works as a character because of Steve Carell's unflinching performance.
There's no denying one of the greatest things about The Office is Michael Scott.
The beloved NBC sitcom, which turns 20 years old this month, borrowed its concept from the British series of the same name, yes, and it's become a beloved TV staple because of its endearing ensemble. But at its core, it's a show about an often misguided, always hilarious, ultimately lovable boss who's trying his hardest to just put his stamp on the world. Without Michael the show doesn't click, and that means Steve Carell's star-making turn as the character is the most essential piece of the larger sitcom puzzle.
But it's not just Carell's natural comedic instincts that make Michael work. In the wrong hands, this is a character who could come off possibly as an insensitive jerk, a guy so caught up in his own story that he forgets to care about anyone else, or to even recognize when he's done something wrong. The trick to Michael Scott isn't just being funny and oblivious, but coming up with an innate emotional core that makes for both a comedic icon and the heart of the show for much of its run. We have to believe that Michael fundamentally wants to be a good person if we're going to let him belittle, mock, and awkwardly bully his coworkers sometimes.
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There are a lot of ways in which Carell managed to pull that off, but rewatching the series now, it all seems like it begins with one particular quirk of his performance, a trick of expression that imbues Michael with disarming humanity. You might not notice it at first, but once you've caught on, it's clear that it's an essential piece of who Michael Scott is, and why we love him.
The trick to playing Michael Scott
One of the interesting things about the format of The Office, with its mockumentary premise, is that we don't really have to spend time wondering what characters are thinking. They tell us, in talking head interviews and in arguments with each other and in one of Michael's many conference room sessions. This is especially true with Michael, a character who's willing to let just about any thought, no matter how insensitive or off the wall, leap from his head with no reservation whatsoever.
So we know, from the beginning of the show, that Michael is a little bit of an egomaniac, the big fish in the small pond of Dunder Mifflin Scranton who is convinced that he's destined for better things. In his mind, he's a comedic genius, a catch for the ladies, a brilliant business mind, and a great friend, and he puts that energy out there every chance he gets. Of course, the longer you watch the show, the more you realize that this is all a very malleable mask, a persona draped over extraordinary vulnerability and loneliness. The trick to Michael, as he's written by the show's creators, is his need for approval and affection, and the pain that comes when he realizes he's done something that's going to cost him that. It's what makes him one of TV's great melancholic comedy heroes in those early seasons, but to make it really click, Carell had to find ways to play all of that.
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How does Carell pull it off? Well, take a look at this clip, in which Michael attempts a daring straitjacket escape while ducking questions from Jim and Pam.
Did you catch it? Let's look at something even flashier, like the moment when Michael tries to play Phyllis' rival Santa at the Christmas party, and gets groans when he says "Sit on my lap and there will be no doubt!"
Or, let's have a look at maybe the apex of this particular acting tic, on display several times during the "roast" Michael throws for himself, but particularly evident when Daryl challenges Michael to name one of the warehouse guys.
The more you watch The Office, the more you're likely to notice that Steve Carell, while a master of many comedic performances, is especially good at that little vocal stutter that comes right as Michael realizes he's said or done something very wrong, something that's about to backfire on him and limit his ability to connect with his friends and coworkers. It happens when Toby upstages him on Casino Night, when Dwight messes up his "safety demonstration" on the building's roof, and in the office gossip episode when he realizes he's been fed confusing information. It happens all through the series, and while it's a very small thing, it's something Carell is note-perfect on each time, and it speaks volumes about who Michael is.
More than anything else, Michael wants to love and be loved. That's not always evident in what he does, because he's also just a guy who has serious issues, who's always been a little bit of an outsider and who, despite his best efforts, doesn't always relate to humans very well. This comes across in his childlike qualities, in the way that he's able to show off genuinely flashy business skills in the midst of otherwise unhinged management, and of course in his love stories throughout the series. But it's also important that Carell nail that quality in the little moments, and that little vocal stutter -- often accompanied by an "OK, well..." or other such filler phrases -- is a key to it.
The Office is a beloved show because it's satirizing a very particular American experience: The bonds that come from sharing 40 hours of a week with people that you might not otherwise ever actually relate to in a real, human way. It's a show about how messy that whole arrangement can be, and that means Michael in particular stands as a satirical take on the Boss Who Wants to Be Everyone's Friend but still has to be The Boss. His place in the show, by its very nature, is an exploration of power dynamics and how those dynamics change people, and that means it's an uphill battle for us to truly love Michael as a person, and not just as that guy who says offensive stuff sometimes and always talks his way out of it in classic middle management style. We have to see him mess up, try to recover, realize that his facade is cracking and retreat. That Carell is able to do this over and over again, through performance decisions big and small, is a testament to his brilliance, and proof that his arc is a key reason the show remains such a hit to this day.
Every season of The Office is now streaming on Peacock, along with the extended cut SuperFan episodes.
