The Office executive producer Paul Lieberstein told E! Online that he wants Harvey Keitel to replace Steve Carell when Carell departs the show next year:
“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.”
Lieberstein admits he hasn’t talked to Keitel about the job, but still believes he’d be the perfect choice:
“I haven’t started any talks with his people, but Harvey would do a great job—a very different energy,” Paul says. “And we don’t want to bring in another Michael, having someone play a very similar character because we have such a high regard for Steve.”
He even has the character’s background planned out:
“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 have to say… I think Keitel would be a brilliant choice to replace Carell!
