Rhys to Replace Steve Carell in The Office??!

[size=150:3q0h1ztp]'The Office' Exclusive: Will one of these guys replace Steve Carell?
[size=85:3q0h1ztp]by Michael Ausiello
Aug 10 2010 02:33 PM ET


[size=85:3q0h1ztp]Credit: Albert L. Ortega/PR Photos;
Robert Prezioso/Getty ImagesThe Office‘s short list of possible replacements for Steve Carell just got a little longer.

Sources confirm to me exclusively that producers of the NBC hitcom have quietly reached out to rising comic-actors Danny McBride (the breakout star of HBO’s hilarious Eastbound &
Down) and Rhys Darby (late of HBO’s Flight of the Conchords) to gauge their interest in joining the cast later this season.

Office showrunner Paul Lieberstein confirms that they’re “having discussions” about introducing a new salesman into Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch, but he wouldn’t say whether this person was being groomed to necessarily replace Carell’s Michael Scott. “We haven’t settled exactly who will take over,” says Lieberstein, adding that promoting a current staffer to the top job remains a viable option as well. (Coexecutive producer Mindy Kaling recently endorsed Rainn Wilson’s Dwight for the gig.)

Recruiting McBride could prove difficult considering that HBO just renewed Eastbound &
Down for a second season. “Danny is very happy on Eastbound &
Down,” confirms his spokesperson.

Darby, on the other hand, is a free agent now that HBO has grounded Conchords. Reps for the New Zealand-born funnyman were unavailable for comment.

...There were also rumours late last year that he would be replacing Steve Carell in the American version of The Office, and though he was in the running, this didn't pan out either, though in hindsight Darby isn't too disappointed.

"
I had a big two-hour interview with them, and went on set and met the writers and whatnot, and it was quite exciting for a while there. And then I heard nothing. In the end they decided to go down another route. But once again I almost think it was a blessing. I mean, I've no idea whether I would've been great in the role. I don't know whether the show would have taken off in a different direction, I don't know if it would have been more or less popular than it is right now, but at the moment it feels a bit like people have given up watching it. So it's a bullet dodged in some ways."
...