Rainn Wilson on Becoming Dwight Schrute the “Nerd Bully”, Anxiety, and his Spiritual Reawakening (2023)

The Great Creators with Guy Raz

Actor Rainn Wilson is best known for playing Dwight on "The Office," but in recent years he has become a mental health and spirituality advocate through his books and production company, SoulPancake. He joins Guy to talk about auditioning for the role of Michael Scott, the deep anxiety he faced as a young actor, his ensuing search for inner peace, and why he believes performing can be a spiritual act.

Rainn’s book is called “Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution”.

This episode originally aired in April 2023.

Links from the show:

• Rainn and Steve Carell give a tour of the set of "The Office"
• The documentary "Laughing Matters," produced by Rainn's production company with comedians talking about mental health
• Rainn quizzes Billie Eilesh ("The Office's biggest fan")
• Rainn on the difference between The Office and Saturday Night Live
• Rainn and Steve Carell talk about pandemic-related stress and give advice on how to overcome it
• Rainn and chess master Magnus Carlsen talk chess and metaphysics

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Stephen Colbert to Ice Cube to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

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