In an alternative universe, The Office could have taken a completely different trajectoryโฆ that is, if HBO hadnโt paid the late James Gandolfini a kingโs ransom of $3 million to turn down the rather attractive offer of replacing Steve Carell, after the latterโs departure as Michael Scott in season 7.
The revelation was initially brought to wider attention during an episode of the Talking Sopranos podcast hosted by Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa, and featuring guest Ricky Gervais.
Given Gervais was not only the original UK showโs creator, but also the original Michael Scott โ or more appropriately, David Brent โ as well as the US counterpartโs executive producer, the conversation naturally meandered towards the seminal workplace comedy.
Thatโs when Imperioli and Schirripa let their guest in on a secret even he wasnโt privy to.
โYou know, they talked about having Gandolfini at one point replace [Steve Carell]โฆ did you know that?โ said Imperioli, who famously portrayed the fan-favourite Christopher Moltisanti.
โI think before James Spader and after Carell, they offered Jim โ I want to say โ $4 million to play him for the season, and HBO paid him $3 million not to do itโฆ thatโs a fact,โ added Schirripa, who was behind the loveable and softspoken Bobby Bacala.
RELATED: โThe Sopranosโ Creator David Chase Reveals Showโs Alternate Ending
โJim was going to do it because he hadnโt worked and it was a number of years removed from when [The Sopranos] ended.โ
To which Ricky Gervais replied in jest: โSo they paid him that to keep the legacy of The Sopranos pure? Well, thatโs a good decision.โ
While James Gandolfini didnโt make the transition from mob boss to corporate middle management with The Office, Steve Carell would eventually be replaced by a new Regional Manager of fictitious paper company Dunder Mifflin all the same.
After a brief consideration period involving onscreen appearances from headlining names such as Will Ferrell, the aforementioned James Spader, Jim Carrey, and even a tongue-in-cheek cameo from Ricky Gervais himself, like many real-life talent searches, they decided to promote internally.
Series regular Ed Helms assumed the position of new Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin (Scranton, Pennsylvania branch) as his existing character, Andy Bernard. That was until Helmsโ character was replaced by Catherine Tateโs Nellie Bertram โ much to both the fandom and criticsโ chagrin โ before Carell eventually returned for a final, heartwarming surprise cameo during the finale.
That being said, weโd be lying if we said we werenโt even a little bit curious about seeing capo Tony Soprano chopping it up with Rainn Wilsonโs loyal-to-a-fault Dwight Schrute.
Now read our one-on-one interview with Michael Imperioli here and The Sopranos creator David Chase here.
