Wilson's rise proclaims the revenge of the nerd
Rainn Wilson -- perhaps better known to you as sycophantic, promotion-obsessed paper salesman Dwight Schrute on NBC's The Office -- has a dream for his deluded character. Dwight will marry his love interest Angela (Angela Kinsey), procreate feverishly and create, in Baron Von Trapp fashion, a dynasty of singing Schrutes. "They could sing Amish war anthems, if such a thing exists," says Wilson.
Dwight Schrute is among the most enjoyably cringe-worthy characters TV has produced. "I love that the writers keep throwing me different things to do," says Wilson. "I can be a crypto-fascist nerd, but show a lot of colors and textures."
It was another nerd -- Arthur on HBO's Six Feet Under -- who got Wilson an audition for the lead in The Office. The part of Michael ultimately went to Steve Carell, but Wilson nailed Dwight, drawn, as he told one reporter, on "a whole slew of white trash middle managers and gun enthusiasts in my family."
Two years and a Dwight bobblehead doll later, Wilson, 41, is taking a turn for the serious in the new film The Last Mimzy, in which he plays a likable science teacher named Larry White who is drawn into an E.T.-like spiritual quest.
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