Read the surprising note ‘The Office’ star Rainn Wilson sneakily received from a flight attendant
But did he watch “Battlestar Galactica” on the plane?
Rainn Wilson was recently taken aback when an Alaska Airlines flight attendant secretly slipped him a napkin at the Portland International Airport.
“The Office got me through some of the darkest days of my life,” the message read. “I can’t thank you enough for that. Sincerely, Melanie (Alaska flight attendant).”
The handwritten note, which did not reveal the attendant’s last name, moved Wilson so much that he posted a picture of it on X (formerly Twitter).
“I didn’t even see who dropped this on my lap at the PDX airport but I greatly appreciate the sentiment, flight attendant Melanie of Alaska Airlines,” Wilson, 58, wrote. “So humbled to be a part of a show that affected, touched, comforted and inspired. And continues to do so!”
“It’s so f – – king rare,” he added. “A continuous Thank you to the whole Office family, cast, writers, crew and especially AUDIENCE!”
Wilson went on to joke, however, that this was “not an open invitation to give me notes on napkins!”
Several X users reacted to the sweet gesture.
“This show gives me the best warm feeling ever,” one user commented.
“Co-signing,” said a second person. “The Office got me and my family through the 2020 pandemic lockdown.”
“Comedy can help people cope,” a third person penned, before adding: “Thanks for the laughs.”
This is not the first time Wilson, who played the rule-abiding Dwight Schrute during the show’s 2005 to 2013 run, has encountered a fan while on a plane.
In April 2023, the “Six Feet Under” actor shared a hilarious Instagram Story where he sat next to a Delta passenger who was watching “The Office.”
“When the person sitting next to you has no idea who you are…,” the actor captioned the video.
In fairness, Wilson looks nothing like his character, whose trademark spectacles, middle-parted hair and mustard-yellow shirt had been replaced with a surgical mask, cap and headphones at the time.
Despite having positive interactions with fans, Wilson did admit that the sitcom left him feeling “unfulfilled” at the height of its popularity.
“When I was in ‘The Office,’ I spent several years really mostly unhappy because it wasn’t enough,” Wilson told Bill Maher on his “Club Random” podcast in July 2023.
“I was making hundreds of thousands. I wanted millions, and I was a TV star, but I wanted to be a movie star. It was never enough,” he said. “I’m on a hit show, Emmy nominated every year, making lots of money working with, like, Steve Carell and Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski and these amazing writers and incredible directors like Paul Feig.”
“I’m on one of the great TV shows. People love it. I wasn’t enjoying it.”
According to Wilson, the deeply-seated unhappiness came from the fact he still wasn’t a huge star.
“I was thinking about, ‘Why am I not a movie star? Why am I not the next Jack Black or the next Will Ferrell?’ ” he added. “ ‘How come I can’t have a movie career? Why don’t I have this development deal?’”
There’s been rumors of a show reunion for years. Last week, co-star Melora Hardin said she is “certainly” up for a reboot, but thinks there is a better chance to get the entire cast back together if they did a Dunder Mifflin movie.
“I would love to make a film, because then it would just be quick and we would do it. I think we could bring everybody back for that,” she told the US Sun.
