Dwight Schrute has got to be one of the greatest television characters of all time. At the very least, he’s got plenty of quotable lines, as actor Rainn Wilson acknowledged in a hilarious rant about fans quoting his Dwight-isms to him, even eight years since The Office came to an end. Apparently people are still very willing to approach him with bear-related questions, jokes about beets or to start a conversation with him by saying, “Fact.” However, there’s one classic “Dwight Schrute” line that Wilson always gets asked about, and he said he doesn’t have the heart to tell fans they’ve got it wrong.
Rainn Wilson recalled to his former colleague Brian Baumgartner on The Office Deep Dive podcast that the infamous, “Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica,” quote is never said by his character, but rather by John Krasinski’s Jim Halpert. Here’s what the actor had to say:
People always say, ‘I want you to write Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica’ [when] I’m signing a picture or something like that, or [they want me to] say it. It’s like, Dwight actually never said that. Two hundred episodes, Dwight never says, ‘Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.’ That was Jim as Dwight saying that.
It’s true that Jim pulled off some pretty epic pranks on Dwight over the course of The Office’s nine seasons, and his impersonation of Rainn Wilson’s character in the Season 3 episode “Product Recall” was definitely one of them. In fact, John Krasinski’s performance in that scene might well be the inspiration for all of those awkward fan interactions Wilson tries to avoid. So how does the actor respond to fans asking him to repeat another actor’s line? Does he burst the bubble and set the record straight? Wilson continued:
I don’t say that, I’m not a persnickety asshole going, ‘Dwight never said that,’ but people should realize that Dwight never actually said that.
Rainn Wilson might not be that asshole, but why do I feel like Dwight Schrute wouldn’t have hesitated to insist that people get their facts straight? In case you need further proof that the line came from Jim and not Dwight, check out the classic scene below:
Jim’s line may be one of “Dwight’s” most famous, but it’s not like there aren’t myriad other great Dwight moments from the series. Dwight and Angela (Angela Kinsey) had some of The Office’s most loveable and laughable moments, and that’s saying something in a show that also boasted perennial fan favorite couple Jim and Pam (Jenna Fischer).
The ensemble cast of the NBC workplace mockumentary will always be remembered for those characters, but the show really launched a number of the actors’ careers, and there are plenty of options available on streaming if you like the cast of The Office. For those who would rather relive the Dunder Mifflin magic, that’s fine too. All nine seasons can be streamed on Peacock, but Seasons 6-9 require a subscription to Peacock Premium.
The Office may have ended years ago, but who knows which of today’s series will be your next favorite? Check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see when all of the new and returning shows are premiering.
