Photo: George Kraychyk; Photo Illustration: Jamie Divecchio Ramsay

Before The Office premiered in 2005, Rainn Wilson wasn’t much of anybody in Hollywood. (His 2003–2005 stint as a mortician on Six Feet Under, though, was a fan fave.) But when he became the awkward cube-dweller Dwight Schrute, Wilson spawned countless fan sites and bobblehead sales. Then he “played Dwight” in Entourage (a reclusive nerdy blogger) and Juno (a quirked-out clerk); next month, he’ll play him again in The Rocker (a washed-up drummer trying to reclaim glory). We sat down with Wilson—who spent two years at New Trier High School in Winnetka—to see if he’ll ever be anybody else.

Time Out Chicago: A star plays a beloved character, then re-creates said character in every movie thereafter? I have two words for you: Napoleon Dynamite.
Rainn Wilson: Well, there’s an interesting balance when you’re trying to transition from being known as a TV actor to doing films. I was talking to Rob Zombie about the difficulties of going from White Zombie to Rob Zombie and putting out new albums. And he’s like, “If you go into some crazy new territory, the fans will rebel against you. But if you do the same thing you did on the last album, the fans will also rebel.” So Office fans may not know me as an actor so well, but they love to see me play Dwight.

TOC: I understand your acting coach told you to always play oddballs since that’s what you were good at. Is that limiting?
Rainn Wilson: Some of the biggest movie stars in the world are essentially characters. Will Ferrell, Jack Black and Seth Rogen no longer have to look like Jim Carrey to be the comedy star. It’s great for me because I can do more serious and intense stuff as well as big, broad comedy. Judd Apatow really helped because he said, “Wait a second. I love these secondary characters. Let’s fill a whole movie with them.”

TOC: Speaking of Apatow, it’s been a long time since a straight-up comedy that wasn’t an Apatow flick did well critically.
Rainn Wilson: Yeah, he’s had the market cornered on that recently. We’ll see what happens. You know, 12 million people watch me every week on The Office, but will a few million of those people want to spend $10.50 and see me playing a former heavy-metal drummer? We’ll find out.

TOC: I was reading an interview—
Rainn Wilson: You need to get a life and stop reading so many interviews with me.

TOC: Um, I’ll get on that. So this interview said you’re not a fan of sketch-comedy films like Blades of Glory—
Rainn Wilson: I am not a huge fan of what is essentially a sketch idea and they try like hell to flesh it out to become a movie. Like Semi-Pro, Blades of Glory or even Anchorman. Where it’s, “Oh, here is a funny conceit: Will Ferrell playing a helicopter pilot with one eye. Let’s build a movie around that.” Code Name: Cyclops is what it’s going to be called.

TOC: But people could say the sketch on The Rocker is “Dwight Schrute–type as a down-and-out drummer.”
Rainn Wilson: I think so, but I do think that the movie is about so much more than that. We have an amazing ensemble of people. Everyone gets to be funny.

TOC: Losers on screen always seem to be men—
Rainn Wilson: Yeah, we’re still a little behind when it comes to women. I would love to see some comedies about loser women.

TOC: Or at least loser men with loser girlfriends.
Rainn Wilson: Yeah, that’s true. Even in Superbad, it’s Jonah Hill with Emma Stone. She is like a 9.5 in the hot-and-cuteness factor.

TOC: What’s Jonah Hill?
Rainn Wilson: Jonah, bless his heart, is like a 4.1. Sorry, I have to check… [Grabs his iPhone]

TOC: What did you think of the film now that you’ve seen it?
Rainn Wilson: [While texting] I really liked it. I think it’s terrific. I think it’s a sweet rock & roll comedy for everyone. It’s kind of a curious throwback to maybe a John Hughes–type film. [Puts down phone.] Like an ’80s comedy—Uncle Buck, I think. It’s kind of a family film, definitely the teenagers will love it, but I also think it’s a great date movie that will have universal appeal. [Smirks]

TOC: What was that look just now?
Rainn Wilson: Oh, that’s the star talking about his own movie.

TOC: You’re of the Baha’i faith. Are you the Tom Cruise of Baha’i?
Rainn Wilson: I’m about as big a star as the Baha’i faith has got, which is pretty pathetic. The Baha’i celebrity, or the Belebrity, is a character actor with a big head playing an annoying creep on a TV show.

The Rocker’s release has been postponed until August 20.