Dwight Schrute

Dwight Kurt Schrute III
The Office character
Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
First appearance	"Pilot"
Portrayed by	Rainn Wilson
In-universe information
Nickname	Dwight "Danger" Schrute, D, D-Money, Dragon, Possum, D-Unit, Morpheus, ReCyclops
Gender	Male
Occupation	Sales Representative, Dunder Mifflin, Scranton Assistant to the Regional Manager, Dunder Mifflin, Scranton Acting Manager, Dunder Mifflin, Scranton Beet Farmer Agricultural Tourism Hotel Owner
Family	Dweide Schrude (Great Grandfather) Dwight Schrute I (Grandfather) Dwight Schrute II (Father) Hette Schrute (née Manheim) (Mother) Manheim (Grandfather) Harvey Schrute (Uncle) Hank (Uncle) Girt (Uncle) Gunther (Uncle) Mose (Cousin) Amel (Cousin) Herschel (Cousin) Johann (Cousin) Helga (Cousin) Heindl (Cousin)
Spouse	Angela Martin (ex-wife)
Based on	Gareth Keenan

Dwight Kurt Schrute III (January 27, 1970) is a character on NBC's The Office, portrayed by Rainn Wilson. While based on Gareth Keenan, from the original UK version of The Office, in terms of appearance, he now closely resembles Newt Gingrich, in his earlier years. Dwight is the top Salesman and former acting manager for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, and has won numerous awards for his successes, despite lacking social skills and common sense. Despite his personal dislike of Jim Halpert, the two are an effective sales team. Dwight's ability as a salesman, though, has rarely commanded the respect of his peers or led to higher levels of professional success. Moreover, though at one time he was the Assistant to the Regional Manager, he was demoted to a debatable number three in the office after Jim came back from Stamford. Currently, while Andy Bernard is manager, Dwight resumed his post as Assistant Regional Manager.

In an episode commentary on the season-one DVD, Wilson refers to Dwight as a "fascist nerd" who is a predictable caricature of a character that demonstrates the futility of most TV. In a featurette on the season-three DVD, Wilson describes Dwight as "someone who does not hate the system, but has a deep and abiding love for it".

Dwight is a former volunteer sheriff deputy. He lives on his family's beet farm, along with his cousin, Mose (played by producer/writer Michael Schur). Dwight also likes paintball, Battlestar Galactica, ping pong, survivalism, Goju Ryu karate and weapons.

Not much is revealed about Dwight's parents except that his father used to take him hunting, cheated in games, and that he battled obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. It is also revealed that Dwight would have loved to set Michael up with his mother, implying that she is deceased. Dwight once mentioned that his grandfather fought in World War II and ended up in an Allied prison camp, implying he was a soldier in the German army. This is later confirmed while Dwight is explaining his reasoning for his living to a long age. He tells the cameras that his grandfather is still "puttering around Argentina somewhere", implying that his grandfather was one of the members of the SS who fled into South America. He tried to visit his grandfather once but his travel visa was protested by the Shoah Foundation. His father and grandfather are also named Dwight Schrute; however, his Amish Great-Grandfather was named Dweide Schrude.

Casting

Further information: Rainn Wilson

Rainn Wilson portrays Dwight Schrute

Dwight Schrute is portrayed by American actor Rainn Wilson. The character is based on Gareth Keenan of the original British version of the show, who was played by actor Mackenzie Crook.

All original series characters were adapted for the U.S. version. Unlike Carell, Wilson watched every episode of the original British series, and was a fan before he auditioned for the US version. Wilson originally auditioned for Michael, a performance he described as a "terrible Gervais impersonation"; however, the casting directors liked his audition as Dwight much more and hired him for the role. Wilson based Dwight's hairstyle on his own style he had when he was sixteen. In an interview he said that he went to a barber to get "the worst haircut possible."

Character information

When the series begins, Dwight Schrute is a competent salesman, despite lacking general knowledge, at the Scranton branch of the paper-goods distribution company Dunder Mifflin. Dwight formally held the title of "Assistant to the Regional Manager" but constantly refers to himself as "Assistant Regional Manager," attempting to elevate himself to second-in-command to Michael Scott. Dwight craves authority over others and relishes any minor task that Michael or anyone else gives him. Though Dwight acts like a know-it-all, he is actually quite gullible, ignorant, and naïve. For this reason, he is easily tricked and pranked by his desk-mate and fellow salesman Jim Halpert. Dwight speaks in a halting, intense manner, even in casual conversations. Dwight almost always wears a mustard-colored short-sleeved dress shirt with a dark tie, often with a brown suit jacket. He often uses one-upmanship to better himself over his peers, such as boasting about how he trains specific parts of his body or how he can outrun Toby Flenderson. Though he has little, if any, sense of humor, Dwight often engages in jokes and games to appease Michael, but fails because of Michael's perception of himself as the jokester. After Dwight temporarily leaves Dunder Mifflin, it is shown that Dwight watered the office plant and arranged the toys on Michael's desk in a manner that made Michael happy. Dwight also has a preference for the back seat of cars because they are the safest location in a car.

Family and childhood

He claims to remember his own birth including his father delivering him and his mother biting the umbilical cord. Dwight was a twin, but he "resorbed" his twin while still in his mother's womb (this occurrence is called twin embolisation syndrome). He believes that he now has "the strength of a grown man and a little baby". He claims to have been born weighing 13 lb 5 oz (6.0 kg), rendering his mother incapable of walking for three months and two days. In "Baby Shower", Dwight claims to have performed his own circumcision. Dwight was shunned by his family from the age of four until his sixth birthday for forgetting to save the excess oil from a can of tuna. He lost a grade school spelling bee to Raj Patel by misspelling the word "failure" in front of the entire school. In seventh grade, Dwight played the invented role of "Mutey the Mailman" in a production of Oklahoma! He explains that there were not enough roles for all of the children, so they made up roles. Dwight's father battled high blood pressure and obesity all his life, but often went hunting with his son. In the deleted scenes of the Season 5 episode, "The Duel", Dwight also reveals that his great uncle Helmuth was locally renowned for building a makeshift flying machine in four years; but he was promptly killed when said machine landed on a small girl. In the Season Two DVD bloopers it is revealed that Dwight's father would take him and his brothers to a swimming hole on hot summer days as a child until 10:00 AM, then they would work the beet fields until well after midnight.

Dwight's paternal great-grandfather, Dwide Schrude, was Amish and apparently others in his family have been as well, since Dwight's cousin and housemate Mose dresses as a practicing member of the Amish. Dwight speaks German, but his knowledge of it is "pre-industrial and mostly religious" as might be expected if the language was learned exclusively in an Amish church or context.

Dwight lives in a nine-bedroom, one-bathroom (which is located under the porch as revealed in "Office Olympics"), farmhouse on his family's 60-acre (240,000 m²) beet farm with Mose, selling beets to local stores, restaurants and roadside beet stands. It is also revealed that Dwight uses part of his farm to grow hemp; in "Launch Party", he claims that teens keep stealing it, though a pizza delivery boy under the impression it's marijuana as opposed to hemp claims that it's "crappy". Dwight and Mose have also turned Schrute Farms into a very ramshackle bed & breakfast that was visited during "Money" by Jim and Pam. The bed and breakfast had three theme rooms, "America, Irrigation, and Nighttime". Schrute Farms was also to be the site of Andy and Angela's wedding before the two broke off their engagement.

Dwight's maternal grandfather, whose surname is Manheim (according to Dwight's web log on NBC.com) fought in World War II and killed twenty men before ending up in an Allied prison camp. In "Take Your Daughter to Work Day", Michael refers to Dwight's grandmother as a "Nazi war criminal". In "Dunder Mifflin Infinity", Dwight reveals that he has a grandfather still alive at 103 years old and living in Argentina, but when he went to visit him, his travel visa was protested by the Shoah Foundation. Dwight reveals the day of casino night that he is wearing the suit his grandfather was buried in ("Casino Night"). It is possible that this is the same grandfather that was reburied in an "old oil drum" ("Grief Counseling"). In the deleted scenes for "The Surplus" in Season 5, Dwight tells Angela that his family came over on a U-Boat after she tells him that Andy Bernard's ancestors came to the U.S. on the Mayflower.

According to one of Dwight's web logs on NBC.com's "Schrute-Space", he had an uncle named Gunther, a goat farmer, who fled the Allied invasion of Germany and married a Finnish woman with whom he had 17 children. He also had an Uncle Girt who revealed that the Schrute family has an ongoing hatred of Harry S. Truman because they were staunch supporters of Thomas Dewey. In another blog, he mentions a cousin named Heindl, who received numerous injuries and infections from an attack by a small dog.

Interests

Dwight is trained in the art of surveillance and is a former Lackawanna County volunteer sheriff's deputy. He is also a purple belt in Goju-Ryu karate, and is the senpai at his dojo. Dwight is a pop culture and sci-fi buff who has expressed fanship of many sci-fi movies and popular TV shows. In the episode "The Fire", he mentioned the movie The Crow as being his favorite film. He hints at belief in fictional creatures such as androids, zombies and vampires (though curiously, despite having claimed in "Business School" to have shot a werewolf, he says in one of his blog entries that he does not believe in them; however, he may have simply been denying claims of werewolves at Schrute Farms in order to prevent potential visitors from being frightened away). He enjoys playing table tennis and states that many of his heroes are table tennis players. He is also shown to be very good at the sport. His musical tastes vary, but classic rock seems to be a recurring theme. His personal musical talents are not lacking, as he plays guitar and recorder, and sings. He has a fascination with cars; he usually checks a car's suspension, especially muscle cars. He drives a 1987 Pontiac Trans Am. His technological talents are limited but he shows a passion for the online role playing game, Second Life, in which the only difference between himself and his avatar is that his avatar can fly. He also shows an interest in trains as he's restoring a life size train in his slaughterhouse during "The Meeting", which has him bonding with Toby as they share the same interest. In "Todd Packer", Dwight does not know who Justin Bieber is, asking Jim "Who is Justice Beaver?" and leaving Jim to answer "A crime-fighting beaver."

File:Dwight weapons.ogg

Dwight expresses his interests in weaponry and surveillance.

Dwight owns an impressive array of weaponry. In addition to Laser Tag and paintball equipment, he has a crossbow range at his farm ("Office Olympics") and, when he was named official security supervisor of the Scranton branch, hinted that he might bring a bo staff to work. He maintained a hidden arsenal of weapons around the office, including pepper spray, nunchucks, throwing stars, a stun gun, a boomerang, handcuffs, a nightstick, a pair of brass knuckles and a Chinese Sword, all of which were confiscated by Toby. Dwight also claimed to have sat at his desk for an entire day with a Spud Gun without any trouble from security. Dwight also uses a real gun, a Colt Anaconda, fired within city limits, to start off the race in Fun Run. He also produced a disturbing number of Molotov cocktails for a panty raid on Utica in "Branch Wars". In "Survivor Man", it is revealed that Dwight still has many knives (and other weapons) hidden on himself (as in "Stress Relief" there is a knife strapped to his leg) or strategically positioned throughout the office ('Mr. A Knife' in a filing cabinet, twin sais behind a water cooler, sword in ceiling tile, blow dart in a bathroom stall, a compound bow under a couch) and he owns a .22 rifle with scope. Also in this episode, it is shown that Dwight has extensive knowledge of how to look after himself in the wild, being able to provide himself with food, and observes Michael from a distance through the scope of a bolt-action centerfire rifle and stops Michael from poisoning himself, although it is not clear whether the mushrooms were actually poisionous.

Dwight is vocal about his views on justice, which is reflected in his television viewing habits as he enjoys watching and has great admiration for 'Judge Judy', as well as Vic Mackey on The Shield. In "The Negotiation", Roy attacks Jim because he kissed Roy's fiancee, Pam, but Dwight intercepts the attack with pepper spray. Jim wants to show his appreciation, but Dwight refuses to accept his gifts: "Citizens do not accept prizes for being citizens". In "Drug Testing", Dwight finds half of a joint in the parking lot, which incites him to carry out a full-out investigation. When he discovers that Michael might have been exposed to drugs at a concert he substitutes his own urine during the drug test. Dwight then resigns from his volunteer position at the Sheriff's Department because he feels he is no longer worthy of working there. In "Frame Toby", Dwight states that he is good at framing people and animals, saying that he once framed a raccoon for opening a Christmas present and a bear for eating out of the garbage, although he made it more than obvious to the police that he wanted Toby to go to prison. In the episode "Womens Appreciation", he is quoted as saying "Better a thousand innocent men are locked up than one guilty man roam free."

In "Stress Relief" and "Happy Hour" it is hinted that Dwight is against vegetarianism. When asked what charity he dislikes he says PETA and says he likes the fact that Isabel is not a vegetarian.

Dwight also seems to like the band Mötley Crüe when he is seen in "Performance Review" and "Traveling Salesmen" dancing to their music.

Commercial Real Estate

Encouraged to invest in real estate by Jo, the new owner of Dunder Mifflin, Dwight decided to buy the office park. He has shown entrepreneurial traits like converting the building lobby into a coffee shop, converting an empty room in the office building into a state of the art gym and organizing a barn maze before Halloween where kids pay to play.

Coworker relations

In "Drug Testing", Dwight says that he likes the people he works with, "with four exceptions", leaving it up to the audience to make educated guesses about whom these four exceptions are. The four are most likely Jim, Ryan, Meredith and Toby because of Michael's hatred of Toby.

Angela

Towards the middle of Season Two, Dwight develops a secret relationship with Angela Martin. Pam begins to suspect a relationship between Dwight and Angela in the episode "E-mail Surveillance" by observing their interactions, suspicions which are strengthened in "The Injury" and "Conflict Resolution" and confirmed by "Traveling Salesmen", where Angela confides in Pam about her relationship, using code names. Ryan discovers the relationship between the two when he overhears a coded conversation between the two in the kitchen while Jim discovers the relationship while coming out of the office bathroom after quitting time to find Dwight and Angela kissing, although on an earlier occasion he unwittingly glimpsed Angela lying in Dwight's hotel room dressed in lingerie, but mistook her for a prostitute. On most occasions, Dwight and Angela will only talk at work in the kitchen, and when facing opposite directions.

In the episode "Fun Run", Angela asks Dwight to care for her sick cat, Sprinkles. Instead of caring for the cat, Dwight feels he should put Sprinkles out of its misery and feeds it antihistamines until it falls asleep and then places the sleeping but not dead cat in Angela's freezer. This backfires, and Angela breaks up with him. Jim, on a visit to Dwight's beet farm, finds Dwight sitting alone at night, contemplating Angela's cherub figurine and moaning in anguish.

In the fourth season finale "Goodbye, Toby", Dwight is obviously hurt when Angela's boyfriend, Andy Bernard, proposes to her. However, in the final scene of the episode (and the season), coworker Phyllis Lapin-Vance comes back into the office following Toby's farewell party and catches Dwight having sex with Angela, strongly indicating a reconciliation between the two is possible.

In the fifth season Premiere, "Weight Loss", Dwight and Angela have resumed a covert relationship, using a storage room in the warehouse to have sex whenever Angela finds Andy too unbearable. In "Business Ethics", it is revealed that it takes Dwight nineteen minutes and forty-eight seconds to make love to Angela. In "Crime Aid", Dwight once again becomes depressed when Andy and Angela have set a date for their wedding. Dwight gives Angela an ultimatum: call off the engagement or lose him. She ultimately says no to him.

Phyllis eventually tells everyone, apart from Andy, about Angela's affair with Dwight; Michael steps in and tells Andy when Angela fails to do so. A duel between Dwight and Andy takes place when both realize that Angela has been lying to them, and neither one ends up with her. For quite some time afterwards, Dwight and Angela avoid each other; however, later episodes have hinted at a possible future for the couple. In the season 6 episode "The Delivery", Dwight, witnessing Jim and Pam talk to customers about their unborn child, decides that he wants a child and asks Angela to be the mother. They sign an elaborate contract including eating guidelines for Angela to follow when she is pregnant, and how the baby will be raised. While Angela seems excited by the reconciliation, Dwight doesn't appear to share her romantic feelings. When Dwight develops an interest in Pam's friend Isabel, he tells Angela to forget about the contract; this infuriates Angela and she sues him in small-claims court. When an arbitrator tells them that the contract is valid and would involve a $30,000 settlement (because it would be illegal to force Dwight and Angela to procreate), Dwight cuts a deal with Angela for five sessions of sex. He then proceeds to abuse his genitals in an effort to sterilize himself, and curtly fends off Angela's efforts to be romantic during Session 6 in "The Chump". In Season 7, the deal continues for a while, but a combination of both Dwight and her having mixed feelings about it, and Angela's meeting of a handsome (though possibly closeted gay) State Senator leads her to void the pact in WUPHF.com. Dwight looks visibly distraught when he sees the now-defunct document.

Michael

Dwight generally worships Michael, viewing him as a model for success, and often jumps in on Michael's ill-conceived schemes. With the enormous exception of going over Michael's head to vie for the manager's job in "The Coup", his loyalty to his boss rarely flags. Despite this, Michael often dismisses Dwight and often appears embarrassed by his antics; for much of the series, he also refuses to promote Dwight from "Assistant to the Regional Manager" to "Assistant Regional Manager." Several times throughout the series, however, it is revealed that Michael does care about Dwight's feelings, and the two sometimes share bonding moments, cracking jokes together. In "Training Day", Dwight is sad when the open branch manager position goes to Deangelo Vickers, and when he learns that Michael did not even recommend him for the job, he snubs Michael and heads off to a meeting Vickers has called, leaving Michael standing outside by himself. In "Goodbye, Michael", Dwight is still mad at Michael, but his hostility turns into heartfelt appreciation as Michael hands him the recommendation letter. At first the letter does not seem to impress Dwight at all, (believing it was a cruel prank) but as he reads through he realizes that Michael truly cares for him all this time. They are later seen engaging in a friendly paintball fight and Dwight's loyalty to Michael is once again secured.

Ryan

Dwight feels threatened by Ryan, to whom Michael often assigns personal tasks, and he continues to resent Ryan, a temp, throughout the second season, often addressing him as "Temp," even after Ryan took Jim's job. In the beginning of season 2, Dwight's friendship with Michael was slightly torn during one of the episodes when Michael must evaluate Ryan. Dwight remained cautious. Dwight takes Ryan under his wing for his first sales call, although they get off to a rough start when Dwight has him undergo a series of bizarre initiation rituals. But soon after, Dwight takes Ryan on his first meeting, which ends in disaster and the two later egg the potential customer's building out of spite. During season 4, Dwight along with Michael, comes to Ryan's rescue when they visit him in New York City when he gets into a scuffle. The two later team up in season 6 when Dwight plans to take Jim down as branch co-manager.

Jim

Dwight is frequently the victim of practical jokes by coworkers Jim Halpert and Pam Halpert, though he remains oblivious to Pam's involvement. As a result of this, Dwight and Jim have an ongoing feud that reaches a head in "Conflict Resolution", when Dwight threatens to quit unless Jim is transferred. Professionally, Dwight wins the 2005 Salesman of the Year Award, though this is likely due, at least in part, to his stealing Jim's largest client. Dwight's stolen sale deprived Jim of his biggest commission of the year.

Somewhat surprisingly, Dwight was regretful during "Initiation" as he told Ryan he and Jim never got along, and since that point and Jim's return from Stamford they have generally gotten along better. Jim is annoyed when Andy replaces Dwight in the brief time Dwight has quit. Jim even consoled Dwight during the painful aftermath of his breakup with Angela, although Dwight maintains a supercilious attitude towards Jim. In addition, as shown in "Traveling Salesmen," Jim and Dwight make an incredibly efficient sales team, functioning well as a duo and thinking similarly in their tactics. The two were paired together when they began as traveling salesmen at the company. Dwight did plan to demote Jim from the Assistant Regional Manager spot and make his life a living hell during "The Job" but Jim mocked his plans and they did not produce any concrete impact on Jim.

Dwight's relationship with Jim mellows somewhat in later seasons, and they sometimes cooperate effectively on sales calls or running the office in Michael's absence. However, when Jim is promoted to co-manager, Dwight's enmity returns to full force and he conducts an ongoing campaign to depose Jim, who eventually resumes his old job as sales representative, pleasing Dwight who (wrongly) believes that his "diabolical plan" forced Jim to resign.

Jim and Dwight team up in "Todd Packer" to try to get rid of Todd Packer after he returns to the Dunder-Mifflin offices and takes Dwight's desk. The two at first can't agree on a plan, but eventually trick Packer into thinking he's got a job in Tallahassee. Michael tries to derail their scheme but changes his mind after Packer insults Holly.

Andy

As a result of the Scranton-Stamford merger, Dwight loses his number two position to Jim and engages in an ongoing battle with new salesman Andy Bernard to gain Michael's favor for "third-in-command". The struggle comes to a head in "Traveling Salesmen". In Season 4, Andy and Dwight work well together as a sales team, but Andy's successful pursuit of Angela after she broke up with Dwight was annoying to him. When Andy gets engaged to Angela, Dwight is greatly upset by this, and embarks on an affair with Angela. This affair culminates in a short-lived fight between Andy and Dwight when they find out Angela has lied to both about sleeping with them. However by season 5, Andy and Dwight become friends and discover they both share a mutual interest in music and hunting.

Pam

Although Pam is often involved in Jim's pranks on Dwight, Dwight has at certain times displayed a curious sense of protectiveness towards her. In "Back from Vacation" and "Diwali", he comforts a tearful Pam, and in "China" he secretly allows Pam to save face when she feels vulnerable about her job abilities. The two even become friends after he suffers a concussion in "The Injury". In the season 6 episode The Delivery, Dwight shows more signs of his begrudging friendship with Jim and Pam during Pam's pregnancy. In the episode, he is sent to the Halperts' house to retrieve Pam's iPod while they are at the hospital. Instead of finding the iPod and bringing it back to her, Dwight decides to completely rebuild and repaint their kitchen. He also advises Pam on how to keep her daughter Cece quiet, during "Viewing Party", by relating his child rearing experiences. Dwight's odd friendship with Pam is explored again in "Doomsday (The Office)". At this point, Pam seems to be the only one in the office who is able to understand Dwight's inner feelings, as she successfully convinces him to deactivate the doomsday machine. It is implied at the end of the episode that Dwight, despite his outward contempt for his coworkers, truly cares about them.

Other office staff

Dwight has an odd relationship with Phyllis, treating her badly (abandoning her across town so she'd lose weight by walking back), but also well (bidding to win a hug from her at the auction and massaging her back when she injured it from dancing). He has a rare interaction with Creed when he suspects Jim Halpert to be a vampire and he asks Creed if he could make a wooden stake for him in less than an hour. Dwight has low opinion of Meredith Palmer and once caused her to get bitten by a bat. During "Todd Packer", he cheers up Kevin upon witnessing Todd insult Kevin with a fat joke, by telling Kevin that he'd be a prominent fighter in sumo wrestling. However, during "Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager", all bets are off when Dwight takes over as acting manager and imposes a dictatorial management style on the staff. When he accidentally fires off a gun and makes Andy lose temporary hearing, the staff blackmails Dwight with multiple requests. Among them, Dwight has to give a back massage to Kevin, which disgusts him.

Romantic relationships

A subtle running joke throughout the series is Dwight's surprising success with attractive women, with Michael often failing to "hook up" at the same time. Despite Dwight's unusual appearance and mannerisms, he manages to attract women who usually develop stronger feelings for him than vice versa. Michael Scott has even pointed out how socially weird Dwight is being, only for the woman to brush it off. In "Night Out", Dwight hooks up with a women's basketball player, while Michael fails in his attempts with a couple of women. As Michael and Dwight leave the club, the woman calls out for Dwight to call her, which he says to Michael that he will not do. In "Niagara", Michael and Dwight compete for the attention of Pam's best friend, Isabel. When Dwight starts talking about his farm, Michael tries to explain that no one can connect with his experiences as farmer, only for Isabel to become interested in Dwight's horses. Dwight ultimately manages to sleep with her, and she even begins to develop deeper feelings for him which he does not return, although it is finally hinted in "The Delivery" that Dwight might have more intimate feelings for her than he originally let on. They meet again at the bar in "Happy Hour", and bond further, kissing at the end of the episode. In a chat at OfficeTally.com, Mindy Kaling noted that Dwight is not a typical "nerd" character, that he is a "farmer and kind of strapping and tall", and it generally makes sense that he does well with the opposite sex.

Character reception

The Dwight Schrute character has had a very positive reception, and is often cited as one of the most popular characters on the show. According to Entertainment Weekly he is one of the "greatest sidekicks." In TV Guide's list of the top 100 characters in television history, Dwight was ranked 85th. In an ABC News interview with Rainn Wilson, the interviewer commented that "Words barely describe Dwight Schrute, the suck-up salesman and assistant to the regional manager of the Scranton branch for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company..." and "Dwight, as played by the 41-year-old Wilson, has become one of the breakout characters in television comedy. Dwight is a survivalist geek, a student of karate who likes to shoot a crossbow and watch "Battlestar Galactica" on television. And he takes himself very, very seriously..." E! News commented that Rainn Wilson should be nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance of Dwight, commenting: "...Who's laughing now? Who's laughing now, Dwight Schrute? Oh, only the ten million-plus people who watched as you pepper sprayed the living daylights out of Roy for trying to pop Jim in the face last night. My God, have I missed you, man. Mr. Schrute, you are the reason I love my job, my friend. It is the selflessly heroic actions of a man such as you that make television a nice place to be on a Thursday night. You may just be an everyday citizen who does not accept prizes for being a citizen, but you'd best be accepting a supporting actor Emmy nod this year, because, hot damn if you don't deserve it."

Another positive review of the character was given by PopMatters, an online entertainment news site. The review stated: "One of the show’s ironies is that Michael and Dwight, hapless though they might be within the office or in most social settings, are actually top salesmen...Undeterred, or unaware of any of this, Dwight carries on with his dreams of grandeur, even instituting a reward system called “Schrute Bucks” for employees who please him during a brief but tyrannical reign as branch manager...Dwight approaches sales with the same militaristic fervor as everything else in his life, and it pays off for him (maybe that’s one of the reasons why, when Jim gives Dwight one of Benito Mussolini’s speeches to deliver when he accepts a sales award in Season Two, Dwight delivers it so enthusiastically that he gets a standing ovation)..." Metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada named a song "Assistant to the Regional Manager," alluding to Dwight's position. In addition, the band created a t-shirt design that indirectly associates itself with Dwight by strongly resembling him. It is named "Guy Wearing Tie."

Outside of The Office

Bobblehead doll

In the episode Valentine's Day, Dwight is given a bobblehead doll as a Valentine's gift from Angela. Following the episode, fans of the show petitioned NBC to make the bobblehead doll available for purchase on their online store. NBC responded by creating an initial run of 4,000 bobblehead dolls, which sold out almost immediately. The creator of the show, Greg Daniels, joked about the bobbleheads, saying "Yes, they are fun, but they also serve a business purpose. People who want to manage by consensus can buy six and keep them nodding all the time to whatever they say." The item is currently sold on Amazon and the NBC store. In 2010 Hallmark released a smaller talking version of the doll as part of their 2010 Christmas Keepsake Ornament selection.

Résumé

In "Halloween", Jim and Pam uploaded Dwight's resume to "Monster.com, Craigslist, and Google." A producer actually did create a Monster account for Dwight and uploaded his résumé a month before the episode aired. It can be found by employers with resume database access who search for salesmen in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The résumé stated that he was willing to relocate to another state, wanted a salary close to $30,000 (USD), desired the job title of regional manager, was currently "Assistant to the regional manager", and had a Bachelor's Degree. The posted résumé also stated: "My time spent at Dunder Mifflin was very enjoying. I had the opportunity to learn from an experienced and talented boss. My branch consistently was one of the top sellers of the company..."

Schrute Farms

In "Money", Pam refers to a TripAdvisor page for Dwight's bed and breakfast. This can be found by searching for Schrute Farms. Jim and Pam discover that Dwight is running the Schrute Farm as an "agritourism" Bed and Breakfast. They spend the night there, taking part in table-making demonstrations, beet wine-making, and distributing manure. That night, however, Jim finds Dwight moaning in depression over Angela. The Trip Advisor page said:

"Schrute Farms is the number one beet-related agrotourism destination in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We offer the finest accommodations for the casual traveler and/or radish enthusiast. Come join us and experience majestic Schrute Farms."

Jim and Pam ("JandP2") also posted a review, which can be seen on the reviews page. It read: "The architecture reminds one of a quaint Tuscan beet farm, and the natural aroma of the beets drifts into the bedrooms and makes you dream of simpler times. You will never want to leave your room. The informative lecture will satisfy all your beet curiosity, and the dawn goose walk will tug at your heart strings. Table making never seemed so possible. Great story to tell your friends. Plenty of parking! The staff’s attention to detail and devotion to cleanliness was limitless. From their enthusiastic welcome to the last wave good-bye, Schrute Farms delivers."

An angry Angela also put a review up, and mentioned the death of her cat as a main cause for the review. It said: "I have to warn people about the proprietor of Schrute Farms—he may portray himself as a gentleman farmer, but he is not what he seems! He killed my cat, Sprinkles! Who knows what he might do to you or your loved ones..."

According to Dwight, during the Civil War, while the battle of Gettysburg was known for having the most deaths, the battle of Schrute Farms was known for having the highest DPA (deaths per acre). He also claimed it was the Northern-most battle during the Civil War. However, it was really a safe-haven for men who wanted relief from the war to focus on artistic lifestyles. It is insinuated that this was a camp for homosexual soldiers. Melvin Fifer Garris is the only known soldier to write home from Schrute Farms during the Civil War.

Vice presidential bid joke

External videos
Rainn Wilson on The Tonight Show discussing the "nomination"

On the May 7, 2008 episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, US Senator and Republican Party presidential nominee John McCain joked that Dwight Schrute would be his vice presidential candidate choice. Rainn Wilson appeared on The Tonight Show on May 14, 2008, and read to Jay Leno a list of demands from Dwight in exchange for being vice president. Included in this list was being able to pilot Air Force One at any time, and only to be addressed as "Iceman" while piloting. He also demanded that Jack Bauer be immediately promoted to United States Secretary of Defense, his bunker to include a foosball table and be zombie proof, and that the Secret Service members be armed with nunchucks, throwing stars, and flamethrowers. Finally, he demanded a flamethrower, an Iron Man suit, and that fellow character Michael Scott be an "ambassador to Hawaii."

Memes

A series of internet memes based on Dwight's character have surfaced on the internet, in particular an image series known as "Schrute Facts". The series focuses on an image of Dwight, with overlaid text that typically begins with an idiom on the top line, and is followed by the word “false” accompanied by a refutation of the idiom based on a literal interpretation. This stem's the character's know-it-all attitude, as well as his penchant for correcting statements beginning with the word "false".

Dwight in academic research

Researchers at Brigham Young University, Stanford and Northwestern University demonstrated that social outsiders, similar to Dwight's character, lead to better group decision making. Media accounts of their published study reported that having a Dwight Schrute around is good for business. Dwight was included in articles about the research by Time magazine, Toronto Globe and Mail, The Salt Lake Tribune and Brigham Young University.

Upcoming Departure from The Office and Spin-Off series

On January 25, 2012, news broke that NBC is planning a spinoff series starring Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, that would be set at Schrute Farms, Dwight's bed-and-breakfast and beet farm. The spin-off will be created by Wilson and executive producer Paul Lieberstein, but Office developer Greg Daniels will not be involved. The series is in the works for a premiere in early 2013, which would cause Wilson to leave the series, if it is renewed for a ninth season. The series will be introduced as a backdoor pilot in a later episode of the eighth season. Despite the news report, Wilson tweeted "Don't believe everything you read in the press, OK?".

External links

• Schrute-Space—Dwight Schrute's "blog" (NBC official website)
• Schrute Farms B&B—Listing on TripAdvisor