Steve Carell on Office revival: 'The odds wouldn't be in its favour'

'I feel like I’m a broken record, talking about this because I get asked about it'

Steve Carell has given a fairly definitive-sounding answer when asked (again) about what he thinks of a revival of The Office.

During the press tour for his new film Welcome to Marwen, the actor was asked by Collider if he would consider returning to his character, the bumbling office manager Michael Scott.

The US series ran for nine seasons before coming to an end in 2013, and was based on Ricky Gervais’ Slough-based creation for the BBC.

“I’ll tell you, no,” Carell responded. ”I feel like I’m a broken record, talking about this because I get asked about it.

"The show is way more popular now than when it was on the air. I just can’t see it being the same thing, and I think most folks would want it to be the same thing, but it wouldn’t be. Ultimately, I think it’s maybe best to leave well enough alone and just let it exist as what it was.

"You’d literally have to have all of the same writers, the same producers, the same directors, and the same actors, and even with all of those components, it just wouldn’t be the same. So, no. But, I love the show. It was the most exciting time, and all of those people are my friends.

“We all love it. It was a special thing. It was a special thing before people thought it was a special thing. It was special to us, before other people started feeling that way. But, no.”

Carell added that he believes a remake wouldn’t be able to capture the “magic” of what they had when the show was on air.

“…The fact that other people have found it, over the years, is really cool,” he said. “It’s really flattering that it’s somehow caught people’s attention, so many years later. But, I don’t think you can recapture that same magic.”

“I really think it comes down to that. If it was magic,” he continued. ”I don’t want to overstate it. It was just a TV show. I just wouldn’t want to make the mistake of making a less good version of it.

“The odds wouldn’t be in its favour, in terms of it recapturing exactly what it was the first time.”

Carrell’s new film Welcome to Marwen is about a devastating attack that shatters Mark Hogancamp (Carell) and wipes away his memories. Unable to afford proper therapy, he meticulously creates a miniature town where he can be a hero, which helps him on the way to recovery.