IRRITATING, lecherous, creepy, obsessive – there’s no off-putting characteristic Rainn Wilson can’t play to perfection, no behavioral tic he can’t make almost lovable.
Over the past few years, the 38year-old actor, usually hidden behind a pair of huge, ill-fitting glasses, has been unnerving all the way to the bank.
After toiling on a soap and getting bit parts in films and on TV, Wilson now finds himself smack in the middle of prime time as Dwight Schrute, resident nudge, on “The Office.” But he first caught the public’s attention a few years ago, playing Arthur the apprentice mortician on the third and fourth seasons of HBO’s “Six Feet Under.” With his unwavering gaze and compulsive mannerisms, Wilson made the role a standout even among the scene-stealing actors who comprised the regular “SFU” cast.
This Friday, he shows up in his first major big-screen part, playing sidekick to Luke Wilson (no relation) in “My Super Ex-Girlfriend.” As Vaughn, Rainn Wilson is the quintessential New York shallow cad: Watching an apartment building spew flames, he carps that the emergency is making it impossible for him to get to his gym. His come-ons to girls typically elicit reactions like, “Don’t talk to me.” For his next trick, Wilson aims to do a 180.
“I’d like to play the Tom Selleck roles,” he says with a laugh. “I’d like to be the new ‘Magnum P.I.’ Have my shirt off a lot. But that’s probably not going to happen.” In reality, Wilson’s more than OK with his lot in life – particularly his sitcom role at “The Office,” which he says is a dream job. Not only does he get to play one of the funniest roles on TV, it’s in the Americanized version of one of Britain’s truly groundbreaking comedies.
The original creators, Emmy winners Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, still keep an eye on their U.S. counterparts.
“They stop by the set when they’re in town,” says Wilson, “and they actually wrote an episode for next season.” However, Wilson has not met Mackenzie Crook, the British actor who played Gareth – a k a the British Dwight (and who’s currently a glass-eyed crewman in “Pirates of the Caribbean”).
But one of Wilson’s co-workers has met her British other half.
“Jenna, who plays Pam, has become friends with Lucy Davis [who played Dawn, the British Pam]. Sometimes the two of them go for lunch. For a serious ‘Office’ fan, how weird to see Pam and Dawn having lunch together!” As far as cliques go, Wilson’s used to playing the guy who doesn’t really hang out with anyone.
But looking at his credentials – acting alongside Steve Carrell in “The Office,” and working with Luke Wilson and “Old School” director Ivan Reitman in “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” – you have to wonder: Is Wilson aiming to be the next member of the Frat Pack?
The hallowed ranks of Will Ferrell, Jack Black and company could use some new blood, after all, and Wilson seems a likely candidate.
“I’m sort of waiting in line,” he says. “I’m like that guy standing outside the club, behind the velvet rope. And maybe if they let in enough hot chicks I’ll get in. And then it starts to rain, and you didn’t bring an umbrella, and . . . I don’t know where this metaphor is going.” He also claims not to know what’s in store for “The Office” staff, since he hasn’t yet read any scripts for the new season. He does, however, have a modest wish-list for his character, who so far has been revealed to be an enthusiast of laser tag, paintball, “Lord of the Rings” and potato guns.
“Hopefully,” he says, “Dwight will get to kill something, wrestle something and make love to something.”
