The Office UK Vs US: Which Characters Are Best?

Rainn Wilson’s performance as Dwight Schrute is a modern comedy gem. Aside from being hilarious as the overzealous salesman, he breathes a lot of humanity into one of the broader characters, and comes close to making Dwight believable as a disagreeable person you might share a desk space with.

He doesn’t quite manage that, though, and that’s because Dwight Schrute is essentially a cartoon. There’s nothing wrong with a brash, wacky sitcom character, but when the US Office tries to emulate the original’s lowkey, realistic beats (as it did in the early days), Dwight stands out as something unreal.

Gareth Keenan, meanwhile, is a beautifully observed collection of little quirks and foibles, patterns of speech and brash ill earned confidence. You could entirely see yourself working alongside a Gareth - many of us probably have.

Realism isn’t everything, of course, but Gareth is also an incredibly funny (and sad) character, from his army fixation to his desperation to be accepted by his cooler colleagues. He also has one of the best designed exterior lives, with exactly the set of awful mates a Gareth type would have.