Sunday night Steve Carell was interviewed on Dateline NBC by Stone Phillips. Probably because he was there to promote his new feature film, Evan Almighty, not a lot of airtime was spent discussing The Office or Michael Scott. However, on msnbc.com there is additional footage which didn’t make it on the air.

In describing Michael Scott, Carell says, “That character is someone with a huge emotional blind spot. He thinks that people love him. He thinks that people think he’s charming and witty…and he’s none of those.”

When asked if he likes Michael, Carell replied, “I do. I think he’s got a very good heart. I don’t think he’s a bad person. I don’t think he’s a mean person. He just says the wrong things. To the wrong people. All the time. Every day. For his entire life.”

I think that sums up Michael Scott pretty well. The fact that Carell can make him a semi-sympathetic character speaks to Carell’s acting ability. In another actor’s hands Michael could very easily be an annoying, one-dimensional dolt but Carell somehow manages to make him …a likable, multi-layered dolt.

This post was Authored by Joe Purcell, Our Resident Authority on all things The Office