September 2, 2010 10:13 am

Harvey Keitel on the list of people that may replace Carell on ‘The Office’

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According to producer Paul Lieberstein, Harvey Keitel is on the short list of actors that could possibly join the cast of Dunder Mifflin when Steve Carell departs after the upcoming season. Interesting choice?

Keitel Dogs Harvey Keitel on the list of people that may replace Carell on ‘The Office’

What an interesting choice to throw into the mix of potential candidates to replace the bumbling Michael Scott. Keitel is obviously mostly known for more dramatic roles in films like Pulp Fiction and The Piano, but has recently made a few forays into comedy with projects like the upcoming Little Fockers.

Lieberstein hasn’t even contacted the actor yet, so it’s too early in the process to draw any conclusions about who will eventually end up on the next season of The Office, but it seems like they may be leaning towards the veteran actor.

“He’s probably the only guy who can do it, and he’s doing TV now,” Paul tells us of the Oscar nominee, who recently starred on ABC’s Life on Mars. That’s what a very smart eager man once called a “win-win-win.”

The EP seems fairly intent on giving Keitel a shot at the role. It’s all conjecture at this point, but Lieberstein says he already has a bit of idea of where the character would be coming from.

“He’s an old salesman who thought he could retire and the stock market went down, and he has to come out of retirement to work for a few years.”

I dunno, it seems like it may be a long shot because there are so many comedians gunning for a lead role on the show. Keitel is amazing and would probably do a fine job, but with the number of funny people and different directions they could take the show, they’d probably be better off finding a comedian with fairly broad range to fill Michael Scott’s shoes.

the wolf Harvey Keitel on the list of people that may replace Carell on ‘The Office’

I can’t say I’d be upset if this happened, but a better idea would be to let Keitel reprise his role in Pulp Fiction. Why isn’t The Wolf a TV show yet? A slick-talking problem solver with a penchant for driving fast. Seriously, who wouldn’t watch that show?