The Cast Of The Office All Agree On Steve Carell's Best Interview From The Show

When Michael Scott (Steve Carell) departs Dunder Mifflin in "The Office" Season 7 to be with Holly Flax (Amy Ryan), the Scranton branch — and the show — loses something special. Though Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) and Robert California (James Spader) enjoy humorous moments at the helm of the company, it's obviously just not the same as Michael's lovably inappropriate antics. In basically every episode, the regional manager is either putting himself in uncomfortable situations, such as when he hits Meredith (Kate Flannery) with his car, or rallys his employees for a cringey activity — most notably the Dundie Awards. 

While these moments are unforgettably comedic, some of Michael's best moments come during his "talking head" interviews for the documentary that's being made throughout the series.

Michael's interviews run the gamut of topics and feature some of his most quotable lines, including, "You know what they say — fool me once, strike one. But fool me twice, strike three." Or there's always the classic, "I want people to be afraid of how much they love me." He reveals his heroes — Bob Hope, Abraham Lincoln, Bono and "probably God" – and praises the world of Wikipedia for having the "best possible information" on the internet. In other interviews, Michael prides his charitable self on being a great "philanderer" and stands by the women's suit he accidentally purchased: "At the very least it's bisexual."

However, several stars of "The Office" are in agreement that a very specific talking head interview that stands out as his best.

In Andy Greene's book "The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s," actresses Mindy Kaling and Jenna Fischer — who portray Kelly Kapoor and Pam Beesly, respectively — revealed their favorite Michael Scott talking head interview.

Season 2, Episode 12 ("The Injury"), written by Kaling, features Michael in pain after accidentally burning his foot on his George Foreman grill. An exasperated Michael tells the camera, "I enjoy having breakfast in bed. I like waking up to the smell of bacon. Sue me. And since I don't have a butler, I have to do it myself." Michael goes on to chronicle his morning routine of waking up, plugging in the grill to cook six strips of bacon and then going back to sleep until it's ready. "Today, I got up, I stepped onto the grill and it clamped down on my foot. That's it. I don't see what's so hard to believe about that."

Kaling hailed this interview as her favorite talking head of Steve Carell. According to Kaling, Michael's dilemma evolved from the original concept of his foot getting sunburned. Carell also wanted his character's situation to be as outlandish as possible. "Steve, I remember when he read it, he's such a genius because there's about seven crazy things ... And he just railed through it," said Kaling. "And at the next meeting it was, 'Give me something else.' He's such a genius." Fischer shared her colleague's sentiment and said, "I think his performance is brilliant. Seriously, brilliant" (per Showbiz CheatSheet).

Mindy Kaling and Jenna Fischer may use words like "brilliant" and "genius" to describe Steve Carell, but the actor didn't have the same confidence in himself while filming "The Office." Rather, he was baffled whenever his co-stars broke down laughing while shooting with him, unable to get through the scene. John Krasinski, who portrays Jim Halpert, revealed (via Rolling Stone), "Sometimes Steve would get frustrated when we couldn't keep it together because he didn't think he was as funny as we thought he was and also he's more professional than all of us."

According to Ed Helms, Oscar Nunez — the man behind Oscar Martinez — was the only one immune from Carell's comedy. He said, "If you've ever watched 'Office' outtakes, you know it can be a disaster when we start laughing. Oscar Nunez was legendary because he was unbreakable. He never, ever broke."

Carell and Nunez may not have cracked up as much as the others during Michael's comical scenes, but these moments — especially the grilled foot monologue — will be remembered by fans for years to come. In fact, one eagle-eyed fan on Reddit, u/Alien-Rooster, noticed that the fateful cooking device makes a reappearance in Season 4, Episode 9 ("Dinner Party"). As Michael and Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin) give their guests quite the tense house tour, the George Foreman grill can be seen on a bedside stool. It seems that Michael still enjoys his morning bacon routine, but he can now avoid treading on the grill.