11 Quick Questions for Rainn Wilson

The Office still has a huge fan base. What characteristics do you share with Dwight Schrute?

Well, I never fit in very well, but I was a little different than Dwight. I was a little bit more of a straight-up nerd. I’ve already talked about my love of Star Trek, but also Dungeons and Dragons, and other nerdist pursuits, like playing the bassoon. I was on the chess team. So I would say that our main point of unity is a kind of social awkwardness.

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You host the upcoming Peacock docuseries, Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss. How is it different from other travel shows?

Getting to do this show for Peacock was amazing. To travel the world, talk to people about happiness and try to figure out what brings people joy and bliss from other cultures and how we can bring that back to our lives here in America. … It was really one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. We met so many incredible people in Thailand, Ghana, Iceland and all over the world. It’s a really fun way to experience travel. Instead of the lens of food, which so many travel shows are about, it’s through the lens of happiness.

Wilson starred as curmudgeonly Dwight Schrute on all nine seasons of the NBC hit show, “The Office.”

Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Where did you feel the happiest while filming?

We went to Iceland, which is truly one of the happiest places. My friend, the actor Darri Ólafsson — he was in the movie The Meg with me — hosted a feast at his house. All of the people we interviewed came together and drank Icelandic beer, had a giant roast pig over a spit and ate fermented shark and other Icelandic dishes. It’s about family and community and the people around you. We’re social creatures … eating and singing together and sharing and hugging. That’s what it’s all about. That is where we find our greatest point of bliss.

What do you do for fun?

I’m in a local USTA tennis league. I play [level] 3.5 men’s doubles competitively. It’s super challenging and really super fun. We have a fun group of guys doing that. That’s my number one kind of outlet for blowing off some steam.

Did you really live in a haunted house as a child?

Yes, I did. I lived in a haunted house on the coast of Nicaragua when my parents were living there as members of the Baháʼí Faith and pioneers. I was only 4, so I don’t really remember it. But every night, the furniture in the house would get dragged around by spirits because they’d be in different places in the morning. It wasn’t the monkeys doing it.

If you weren’t an actor or author, what would you be doing?

I always thought I would be a high school English teacher. Now it’s probably more of a drama or acting teacher, but I still think there might be a chapter in my life when I drop all this and I just go teach at some high school or college, direct some plays and talk about the love of literature and storytelling.

Any bucket list items before your 60th birthday?

I would like to go to the Galapagos. I’d like to go snorkeling with weird sea creatures.