Steve Granitz/WireImage.comHello friends, Korbi here, and yes, it goes without saying I'm more than a little peeved at the Emmy voters for once again blowing off a few of my favorites this morning. (Connie Britton for Friday Night Lights...WTF?! And no Big Love?!) But upon scrolling a little farther down the list, I found the name Rainn Wilson, and a bit of my faith in the Academy was restored.
Because who deserves a nod more than Dwight Schrute? No one. Which is why I ran around my apartment like a giddy schoolgirl when I heard I’d be getting some one-on-one phone time with the man himself. So, without further ado, Rainn, straight from a Canadian hotel room near the set of his new movie The Rocker:
Congratulations, sir. I’m so psyched for you.
Thank you! Thank you very much!
Of course, I must ask you the question you’ve surely answered at least 15 times already today: Where were you when you found out?
I was on the surface of the moon, and a carrier pigeon showed up from my publicist’s office. I don’t know how that happened, but I immediately jumped on the first shuttle back here to get on the phone and do some interviews...No, it was the standard [experience]. The only thing that was funny was the producer of the movie I’m filming right now in Toronto, he beat my publicist to the phone by, like, eight seconds. He was so thrilled to be the first to tell me. I think he’s going to be telling his grandchildren about how he was the first to tell Rainn Wilson that he got an Emmy nomination.
So, you were expecting the nom and not surprised at all, right?
[Laughs.] I just tried as much as possible to put it out of my head and, you know, be skeptical about it. That way, if I got nominated, it would be a nice surprise. You know, Emmy voters are sort of notoriously conservative, and so the fact that they nominated a fascistic, über-nerd with a terrible haircut is pretty ballsy for them.
Steve and Jenna also got nominations. Have you had a collective squeal over the phone yet?
I haven't been able to speak to anyone in the cast yet. I just got up—I've been doing night shoots—and went right into doing interviews. But I texted with Jenna, and I will call them later.
Is there anyone on the nomination list you're particularly thrilled for or anyone left out that you feel was robbed?
Well, you know, I think a lot of people were robbed, but I don't really want to get into that. But there are a lot of great actors who did get nominated, and I was really excited for The Sopranos, because I thought this last season of it was just about as good as television gets. And I'm excited to geek out and meet the guy who plays Locke on Lost, because he'll be there. I'm definitely going to track him down. I'm gonna stalk him.
And Battlestar got a writing nomination.
That's right! Battlestar Galactica!
This is actually your first solo nomination, right?
It's the first time I've ever been nominated for anything in my life, so it's a nice first nomination.
This is a day you'll always remember.
I'm gonna sear it into my memory banks right now. Ready...and...done.
Will you ask Steve for any advice, since he has been going through this sort of thing for the last couple of years?
I'm just gonna ask Steve to lend me some money. Yeah, that'll be the extent of my conversation with that monkey.
Have you had a chance to look at your competition in the category?
Um, yeah. I can take any of 'em in an ultimate combat fight in a cage match. I don't know...Kevin Dillon though, he's pretty tough. But I'm wily. So, I think they should put us all in a cage and let us fight it out.
You are certainly deserving of the award—and at the top of my personal list. But let's say, worst-case scenario, someone else goes home with it. Last year, upon Kathy Griffin's loss, she stormed out of the Creative Arts Emmy ceremony flipping off her competition and yelling various expletives. Would you have a similar reaction?
[Laughs.] Um, I would like to hit someone in the head with an Emmy. Just so I could say I did it. What I'd really like to do, though, if I'm lucky enough to win, is speed down the freeway until I'm pulled over, and then stick my Emmy out the window, and be, like, 'What?' and have the cop just wave me off, goodbye. That's what I'm shooting for.
What do you make of the iconic status Dwight has now reached? There's the bobblehead, and now I hear Hallmark has Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute greeting cards coming out.
Oh, perfect.
Hopefully, you're getting a cut of the profits.
Well, you'd think I would, yeah. My corporate captains don't seem to believe in paying me [for merchandise]. I found out they've sold over 100,000 Dwight bobbleheads now.
And you're getting recognized as Dwight everywhere you go, even up in Canada?
Yeah, definitely, I am. It's amazing. You know, we were a show that was almost canceled several times, and so now, all this recognition is pretty incredible.
I ran into your onscreen better half, Ms. Angela Kinsey, a couple days ago, and she told me she has big plans for the show this year. The two of you are going to join the circus, possibly.
Yes.
She might get drunk, loosen up a bit and get caught having some fun with you in a storage closet. Are you on board with these plans?
I'm on board with all of them. I think we should get caught in a storage closet at the circus...or maybe in the monkey cage.