The Office audition tapes for Adam Scott, Seth Rogen, Eric Stonestreet, John Cho, Bob Odenkirk and Kathryn Hahn are all funny, but it’s tough to picture any of them in the roles we came to love. It’s mostly due to what we’ve grown to expect from the characters. They are who the actors made them.
Somehow they didn’t feel right either. It would be like if Will Smith took the role of Neo in the Matrix. He certainly would have done a great job, but Keanu’s dead-eyed, confused stare is what made it all work. The casting directors for The Office nailed it, unlike some others who got lucky that an actor passed on the part.