My dad was always such a frustrated artist. He always worked very hard to support his family, doing a bunch of ridiculous jobs. He wanted to be a painter, but then he also wrote science-fiction novels in his spare time.

I started in theatre, and for me, it was all about transformation. You transform into the character that you’re playing.

I think Dwight loves being number two. I don’t think he has any desire to be number one. He wants to be number two no matter where he goes. It’s like Avis. ‘We try harder.’ That’s Dwight.

You meet people in Hollywood that are famous, and you’re not sure what they got famous for.

And I want to find a way to be of service to humanity. I think that’s crucial. So want to be an artist and a servant, a humanitarian, and I want to play goofy weirdoes.

What’s interesting is the show allows for the awkward pauses to be captured, which makes it stylistically unique, especially for American audiences.

I’m lucky to have a wife and a child that keep me grounded.

We’ve seen that there are a lot of people out there – teenagers in Topeka, housewives in Long Island, millionaire Internet start-up moguls – that all want to connect with each other about what it is to be human.

I think we’re the only jokeless show on television. I mean really, we have no setups and no punch lines. It’s not a joke show. There are funny lines and funny moments but again the comedy is born of the human experience and awkward pauses are a great part of what it is to be human.

There’s like ten minutes when it’s like, ‘Okay, wait, who is this guy again?’ And then, you know, I just put on the calculator watch and the glasses, and just be all, you know, inappropriate. And then it just works out fine.