-Life as RAINN WILSON: A Spiritual Actor-
Introducing
Rainn Wilson is an American actor, writer, director, producer and you could even throw in successful entrepreneur.
Arguably he may be best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the American version of the television comedy The Office, for which he earned three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Professional Origins
A native of Seattle, Washington, Wilson began acting in college at the University of Washington, and later worked in theatre in New York City after graduating in 1986. Wilson made his film debut in Galaxy Quest (1999), followed by supporting parts in Almost Famous (2000), Steven Soderbergh’s Full Frontal (2002), HBO’s Six Feet Under and many other TV and film productions.
Pop Culture Icon
However, it was his casting as Dwight Schrute in The Office in 2005, a role which he would play until the show’s conclusion in 2013 that really took his career to other worldly heights. Arguably is was that period which launched him into the stratosphere of pop culture icon status.
Post ‘The Office’
Now, if keeping up with entertainment news isn’t your thing, you might have assumed that after such accomplishment, he would’ve been content to bask in his past glories while perfecting the art of blissful relaxation and inertia.
Well alas, that assumption could not be further from the truth. Rainn has done anything but rest on his laurels. Let me bring you up to speed on a sampling of some of his endeavours post ‘The Office’.
- Co-wrote a New York Times bestseller SoulPancake: Chew on Life’s Big Questions
- Co-founded the digital entertainment media company SoulPancake in 2008 to encourage open-hearted dialogue about what it means to be human
- Wrote a humorous memoir about his personal life, career and faith called The Bassoon King 2015
- Starred in the comedy audio series Dark Air with Terry Carnation 2021
- Started a podcast Metaphysical Milkshake with renowned religious expert, author and producer Reza Aslan
- Voiced characters in major motion animated pictures and series ranging from Smurfs to DC Animated films
- Acted in major theatrical releases like Weird: The Al Yankovic Story as well as other notable Netflix and Amazon Original Series productions
Present Day
And now, returning to the present, Rainn is presently involved in the promoting of a couple of his most recent works.
The first being a Peacock Documentary series called Rainn Wilson and The Geography of Bliss in which Rainn travels the world in the search for the meaning of happiness.
The other being the launch of yet another critically acclaimed book –which I might add has quickly become a NY Times Best Seller, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution
This will be a talk worth listening to for:
- those looking for deeper meaning within their lives and careers
- those curious to hear more about how they too, may benefit from finding some degree of spirituality within their own lives
- fans of Raiin Wilson who wish to truly understand what drives him within his life and professional endeavours
Listeners will come away with insights on:
- what spirituality is and isn’t according to both Wikipedia and Rainn 😉 –> SPOILER ALERT: It is not solely a religious construct
- what we as individuals and as a collective society are missing out on by not having more spiritually minded conversations
- what benefits we can potentially derive from being more spiritual within our lives
- Rainn’s own spiritual journey which involved jettisoning his faith at one point and how and why he was forced to come back around to it
- Rainn’s mindset and personal feelings during the time in which The Office was at its peak in popularity
- what he feels is the missing piece as it relates to true professional and personal achievement
- how Rainn’s spirituality interjects itself into his work whether it’s acting, directing or writing
- his thoughts on the notion of purpose within our lives and what he feels we all need for true happiness and fulfillment
- his relationship with fame, the character Dwight Schrute and The Office
- why we need spirituality within our work
- Much more!
A Memorable Quote from the Episode:
“Here I was living in New York city living as professional artist and yet I was really miserable from what I know now to be a lot of mental health issues. As I explored spirituality in totality and read a lot of holy books from the world’s different faith traditions, I got reacquainted with the faith of my childhood which I decided on a more conscientious and arrived level to come back to.”
-Rainn Wilson
Check Video Highlights of the Conversation:
Discover More
For those interested in learning more about Rainn, be sure to check out his latest book Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution. You can also watch his new series Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss streaming on Peacock. Lastly, he can be followed on the following social platforms:
Keep Listening!
I hope you enjoyed the episode. For more, check out additional episodes here!
