Posted in: Peacock, TV | Tagged: the office, The Paper

The Paper: Gleeson on Learning from The Office's Carell & Krasinski

Domhnall Gleeson revealed John Krasinski and Steve Carell were his The Office "Jedi Masters," advising him regarding his role on The Paper.

Domhnall Gleeson has a tall task at hand as the current torchbearer of The Office franchise in the US with the upcoming Peacock spinoff series The Paper. While the Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant-created franchise has enjoyed success not only in their country of origin in the U.K., but also in the far more successful US counterpart in the Steve Carell-starred series that ran from 2005-2013, and the 12 other countries that have their own incarnations of The Office, all in the West. Perhaps someday, we'll get an Asian version of the sitcom beyond the SNL sketch. In the meantime, we get our first true series spinoff with the Ex Machina (2014) star and Sabrina Impacciatore leading the way. While promoting his upcoming AppleTV+ film Fountain of Youth, Gleeson spoke to Collider about which The Office alum he sought to guide him into that universe.

The Paper Star Domhnall Gleeson on Seeking Sagely Advice from 'The Office' Leads

Naturally, the first choice for Gleeson couldn't have been more evident than his Fountain of Youth co-star John Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert, the Dunder Mifflin sales rep, prankster extraordinaire, and one-half of the series' most famous pairing opposite Jenna Fischer's Pam Beesly. "Of course, I talked to John, and it was crazy," he said. "I was working with John, so I got to talk to him about it before I fully jumped onto the job, and he was incredible and has remained incredible. He's also a wonderful director, I'm sure you know, and a writer. So, I got to learn a lot from him in loads of different ways."

Gleeson had another ace in his sleeve, working with Carell in the 2022 Hulu psychological thriller limited series The Patient, "I'd also worked with Steve Carell before, so I got to talk to each of them. I think a lot of it is just soaking up their vibe." The actor is certainly no stranger to bearing the weight of responsibility of a franchise, having been a part of Star Wars during the Skywalker Saga, albeit in an antagonistic role. Gleeson heeded the lessons Carell and Krasinski offered about why their NBC series worked so well.

"They're both very selfless actors, and I think that's necessary in work like that. I think it has to be about the ensemble," Gleeson said. "They seem to be like that with all of their work. I think just leading by example, that was a lesson for me on its own. They're also really funny, which is terrifying. That's the other thing." The recent NBCUniversal Upfronts revealed a first-look image at the Peacock series, and teaser poster, but no official trailer. "I don't know that there's much I can tease because they're being super in-house about letting the information out when the show comes out, which I think is a good way to do it," Gleeson offered. "People are going to have to take the show on its own merits because it's become something different. It's a whole new city. It's not like a remake. It's like the documentary crew went to a different city, and they're following different people. It's not a paper company, it's a newspaper. It's a very, very different setup."

The Paper follows Gleeson and Impacciatore trying to save a dying Midwestern publication with the historic Toledo newspaper, The Truth Teller, relying on an inexperienced staff of volunteer reporters to keep it afloat. Oscar Nuñez is reprising his role as Oscar Martinez from The Office. Joining them are Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young, and Tim Key. The executive producers are Gervais (who also starred in the UK original and appeared in a few episodes of the NBC series), Merchant, and creators Greg Daniels and Michael Koman. Upon the series' official title announcement, Gervais chimed in on social media, describing The Paper as, "It's like The Office but set in a dying local newspaper, like in Afterlife. Do I get paid twice 😂." The series is set for release in September 2025.

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