Rainn Wilson Reveals What He Regrets About 'The Office'

Actor Rainn Wilsongot candid about his time starring as Dwight Schrute in the beloved NBC workplace comedy, The Office.

During a recent appearance at FAN EXPO San Francisco 2025, alongside his Office castmate, Angela Kinsey, who played Dwight’s love interest, Angela Martin, Wilson shared that he wished he had enjoyed filming the sitcom more. According to Wilson, his Office castmates, Ed Helms, who played Andy Bernard, and BJ Novak, who starred as Ryan Howard and was one of the show’s writers, share the same opinion.

“It’s something that I’ve shared with a number of Office members. Ed Helms was one I spoke to about this and BJ Novak I spoke to about it, that one of our regrets is that we didn’t enjoy it more,” said Wilson during the interview.

He clarified that he and his Office castmates “enjoyed it a ton” during the show’s production. However, as actors on a successful show, they wanted to jump on the next opportunity before the moment passed.

“You work so hard as an actor and you’re broke forever and you’re getting little roles and then all of a sudden like when your break hits, you want to make the most of it,” said the actor during the FAN EXPO panel. “So, you know, all of a sudden I had opportunities to, you know, star in movies and develop other TV shows and get production deals and do commercial campaigns. And sometimes you could be so focused on these other aspects of your career that like the greatest job that you’ll ever have is in your lap, and you kind of neglect just really savoring how special and rich that experience is.”

Wilson also shared that he believes not fully enjoying the moment is a universal experience.

“I think maybe this is something that we can all experience. You know, sometimes high school is your best time of your life,” said Wilson to the FAN EXPO audience. “Sometimes it’s college. Sometimes it’s a work experience or a vacation, but you’re thinking about what’s the next thing. So, it’s kind of a trap of how happiness works.”

Wilson played Dwight throughout all nine seasons of The Office, which ended in 2013. After the sitcom ended, Wilson appeared in several popular projects, like Star Trek: Discovery, Mom, and Lessons in Chemistry, as reported by IMDb.