Rainn Wilson says playing Dwight on 'The Office' allows him to 'be a dick to people'

Don't forget his run as Backstrom. Another misanthropic character.

Like Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation), Rainn Wilson is probably just playing himself in the show. Both of those shows are famous for their "non-acting" where people just kinda be themselves (and often share their character name with their RL name). They're very literal about being workplace drama. These people just be themselves and that entertains us. A couple of them are comedians, but for the most part, they're just cool and/or quirky people who play well together.