History Characters / TheOfficeUSMainCharacters

->Played by: B.J. Novak

* DumbButDiligent: In contrast to Jim, who is BrilliantButLazy, Dwight has a tendency to just not take "No" for an answer, and that is how he makes sales. His interpersonal skills are inappropriate, sometimes even illegal, but he has a high level of passion for everything he does.

** While Dwight can be seen as off-putting by a lot of people, he's surprisingly good with and quite fond of children and babies, including Jim and Pam's baby, Cici. This is best seen in the episode "Viewing Party" where Cici keeps crying and Dwight takes her from Pam and does a simple hand motion that stops her crying and causes her to fall asleep within seconds. Pam even notes that she "loves him" much to Jim's despair.

** While Dwight can be seen as off-putting by a lot of people, he's surprisingly good with and quite fond of children and babies, including Jim and Pam's baby, CiCi. This is best seen in the episode "Viewing Party" where CiCi keeps crying and Dwight takes her from Pam and does a simple hand motion that stops her crying and causes her to fall asleep within seconds. Pam even notes that she "loves him" much to Jim's despair.

* NotSoDifferent: The occasions where he's allowed to take charge show him to be just as incompetent as Michael.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MichaelScott_6980.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me."'']]
->Played by: Creator/SteveCarell
->Seasons: 1-7, 9[[note]]"Finale"[[/note]]

Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin, Scranton.

UK counterpart: David Brent.

* FourOneNineScam: Michael has a habit of falling for these, to the point where Pam jokes he is "sponsoring twenty Nigerian princesses."
--> '''Michael''':" ... when the son of the deposed king of Nigeria emails you directly, asking for help, you help! His father ran the freaking country!"
* AesopAmnesia: Has a mind-boggling ability to completely forget practically every lesson he ever learns almost immediately. This finally starts to turn around when Creator/SteveCarell made his decision to leave ''The Office''.
* AmbiguousDisorder: Given [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} his personality]], [[CampStraight mannerisms]] and propensity to bumble into impossibly awkward situations, it's been theorized that he has anything from being on the Autism Spectrum to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LLfLTsiDAo Histrionic Personality Disorder]].
* AttentionWhore: Michael will even try to make someone else's wedding about him.
* BabiesEverAfter: When he shows up in the finale, it's mentioned that he has two cell phones because he takes so many pictures of his kids.
** He really just wanted to do the family plan, as before he didn't have five friends for a prior plan.
* BackForTheFinale: To be the best man (or: "bestest mensch") at Dwight's wedding.
* BenevolentBoss: He likes to think of himself as one of these (and, in all fairness, he does genuinely try), but he's so bad at it that he ends up being a StupidBoss instead. Though he comes close occasionally, even having moments where he actually is helpful. (Supporting Pam after her failed art gallery show, for instance.) Also, almost every boss that replaces him when he leaves prove themselves to be incompetent, stupid, AxCrazy or downright evil, so at the very least he is the nicest by comparison if nothing else.
* BigNo: When Toby returns, Michael loses his shit.
* BirdsOfAFeather: With Holly. Both are dorky individuals who love making jokes and doing impressions. They also can be InnocentlyInsensitive.
* BunnyEarsLawyer:
** He's the single most successful salesman in Dunder-Mifflin history, and every time we see him make a sale, he is incredibly good at pitching and selling the company's service and has a great rapport with almost all of his clients. This is why corporate had him promoted to Regional Manager, a position which he seemed to have been a perfect fit [[IncrediblyLamePun on paper]], but is largely [[ThePeterPrinciple incapable of doing properly.]]
** Due to (or despite) his strange and distracting managerial style, the Scranton branch goes from being the worst performing branch in the company at the beginning of the series, to the ''most'' successful branch by season 5.
** He is genuinely able to act as a man in his position should (as Roy's attempted attack on Jim and the watermark incident prove), it's just a matter of untangling him from his skewed beliefs enough to get him to do so.
* ButNowIMustGo: He gets engaged with Holly and he moves to Boulder, Colorado to live with her.
* BuxomIsBetter: Michael rarely misses a chance to remind people he likes big boobs, and one of his "cons" about Jan was that her chest was "nothing to write home about".
* CampStraight: He's slim and almost always wears suits, which an old video shows to have been true since he was a child. In high school, the majority of his peers assumed that he was gay due to his mannerisms and unusual interest in his appearance.
* CannotTellAJoke: Well, he can tell them reasonably well in the right conditions (as seen in "The Client"), he just can't come up with good ones himself or reliably tell one when put on the spot.
* CatchPhrase: "ThatsWhatSheSaid!"
* ChandlersLaw: He repeatedly misuses this at improv classes, on the grounds that you can't top pulling out a gun for drama.
* CharacterDevelopment:
** The later seasons have steered him back in the right direction, especially season 7, it being his last season and everything.
** He is a very calm and collected person at Dwight's wedding, showing how much his kids have matured him.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He completely lives in his own world, where things work a bit differently than they do in real life. It's what makes his attempts at being a BenevolentBoss backfire most of the time.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Often, for example when Oscar is outed as gay and Michael wonders if Gil, Oscar's "roommate" knew.
* TheCon: He mentions not being able to attend college because he lost his savings in a pyramid scheme.
* ContemplateOurNavels: Prone to this, especially in talking head segments at the end of episodes.
* CripplingOverspecialization: Experience in sales done with a few repeat clients in a highly personal manner doesn't translate into telemarketing very well since telemarketing involves rapid fire calling rather than building a personal rapport, as Michael finds out in "Money". Also a key part of his character, considering he was promoted to Regional Manager because of his sales skills, which didn't exactly convert to managerial skill in his new position.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: There are a couple of times when he is genuinely angry, and dear Lord, he can be terrifying when that happens. The shift is big enough to get a just as angry Stanley to back down. He also shows an outright awesome level of negotiating skills when his fledgling paper company comes at odds with the new Dunder Mifflin management. Up until this point, he'd bumbled his way through every negotiation attempt, but then he suddenly demonstrates enough business acumen to completely rock David Wallace's resolve.
-->'''David:''' Here's the situation. Your company is four weeks old. I know this business. I know what suppliers are charging. I know you can't be making very much money. I don't know how your prices are so low, but I know it can't keep up that way. I'm sure you're scared. Probably in debt. This is the best offer you're gonna get.
-->'''Michael:''' I'll see your situation and I'll raise you a situation. Your company is losing clients left and right. You have a stockholder meeting coming up and you're going to have to explain to them why your most profitable branch is bleeding. So they may be looking for a little change in the CFO. So [[MyDefenseNeedNotProtectMeForever I don't think I need to wait out Dunder Mifflin]], I think I just need to wait out ''you.''
** When Sabre's "sales is king" policy makes the sales staff [[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism act like a bunch of cocky jerks only concerned with money]] (Phyllis even called Michael "numb-nuts"), he decided to not reward them, and instead gave the leads to the other employees, who proceeded to hide them around the office.
* DependingOnTheWriter: How much he is sympathetic or an unlikable jerk. The episodes "Dinner Party" and "Chair Model" are great examples: in the first, he is portrayed as a sympathetic man suffering from a BastardGirlfriend, while in the latter, which is the next episode, he completely ignores his employees problems, demands that they find a date for him and then insults said dates when they do not live up to his high standards.
* DesperatelyCravesAffection: This is what drives Michael to his antics in the office and why he simply can't be a boss.
* DirtyCoward: Whenever there's a fire in the office, Michael is always the first to run out, not caring how his employees are doing.
* DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery: Falls into this when he suffers from a ''very'' mild burn on his foot and ends up using a wheelchair. Throughout the episode, he acts as if it was ten times worse than Dwight getting a concussion from a car accident earlier.
* DontExplainTheJoke: He loves to subvert this trope.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Some of his more lucid moments have Michael realizing that he doesn't receive the respect that is due to him by merit of his position if nothing else. Such moments are typically staggering enough to his normal behavior that he tends to act like a man with his job would normally, and as such, have a few [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome moments of awesome]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Noted by Jim in reaction to Josh Porter abandoning the Stamford branch by accepting a better job at Staples: not even Michael would ever do that.
* EverythingIsRacist: Especially when trying to approach Stanley, Darryl, or Oscar.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Sanguine.
* FourthDateMarriage: He's a major believer in "love at first sight" and tries to rush many of his relationships. He proposes to Carol on only their ninth date, and is soundly rejected. He eventually averts this by taking Jim's advice to slowly court Holly, whom he does have an instant connection with, and allows their friendship to slowly turn into a relationship.
* FreudianExcuse: He never experienced love or friendship growing up and attempts to have the office act as a surrogate family to compensate.
-->'''Young Michael''': When I grow up, I want to have 100 kids, so I can have 100 friends and nobody can say no to being my friend.
* FriendToAllChildren: He is very fond of children and wants to have his own kids.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Not as much as Dwight or Andy but he does fit the criteria for Proximity, Pity, Supervision, and the rare Caring. The other workers hold an ''immense'' dislike for his antics and somewhat dread any social involvement with him. This does diminish throughout the series, partly because they become aware of why he is like this and his HiddenDepths, and partly because other managers tend to show them Michael is certainly not the worst person to work with.
* FriendlessBackground: Much to his chagrin. He even states the lunch lady was his only friend in the fourth grade at school.
* GeniusDitz: For all of his incompetence, when Michael is good at something, he's ''really'' good at it. Particularly sales, ice skating, and being great with kids.
* TheGlovesComeOff: When he isn't trying to impress everyone, he's a good worker and boss. This confused Jim as he made a pie chart analysing his work schedule and shows that Michael spends more time avoiding work than actually doing it. When he does work, it's enough to keep his job. In "Did I Stutter" he lays down the law on Stanley by telling him that he finally accepts Stanley's hatred of him but regardless of the animosity, Stanley cannot speak to him in such an aggressive manner under any circumstances.
* HasAType: All his most important love interests (Jan, Carol, Holly) are blondes. He also briefly dated Pam's mom who was blonde as well.
* HiddenDepths:
** "Moroccan Christmas" shows he's great at making drinks.
** For all his faults as a boss, he's a ''fantastic'' salesman.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: One example is Kevin, who originally applied for warehouse worker. Michael hired him as an accountant because he saw something in him. He saw wrong. Another example is Todd Packer, who Michael was the only one who saw him as a friend. [[spoiler: Subverted in the episode of the same name, where Michael decides that Todd has gone far enough]].
* IdiotBall: Even for Michael, driving his car straight into a lake in ''Dunder Mifflin Infinity'' just to prove a point about technology (specifically, that the GPS that led him into the lake was unreliable) was unbelievably stupid.
* IdiotHoudini: If it was real life, he would be fired within the year, ''at most''. Or better, not be promoted at all. In ''The Office'', he manages to stay regional manager at least seven years.
* IfItsYouItsOkay: With Ryan.
* IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer: Is fond of doing this when it's grossly inappropriate. He finally gets it right when he delivers it to Gabe in regards to Erin in "Viewing Party".
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: His stated reason for becoming a salesman, and the reason why he acts the way he does.
* TheIllegible: Michael has terrible handwriting. In "Company Picnic," he reads his love note to Holly and refers to them as "soup snakes."
--> That can't be right. We're ''soul mates''.
* ImportantHaircut: In the series finale, [[spoiler:Michael's hair is very visibly graying. A minor running gag in the show that was mostly left relegated to deleted scenes was that Michael dyed his hair to appear younger. Now that he's settled down and happy, Michael doesn't need to do this anymore.]]
* InnocentBigot: He says the most insulting things to minorities such as Stanley and Oscar (the only black and Hispanic/gay persons in the office, respectively) but he constantly gets away with it because he really does mean well.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: A large component of his sense of humor. Made worse by the fact that his underlings (constantly) point how much his jokes offend them, he refuses to change his choices of joke-worthy material.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Early on, Michael is actually unsure of what "open-mindedness" means.
* {{Jerkass}}: He's always cruel to Toby for no reason and, in general, he's selfish, shallow, and obnoxious whether he realizes it or not. However, he unquestionably is a.......
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He might be selfish, but his employees all consider him a genuinely nice guy at heart and will rally around him when he needs it. Take his guilt over the Prince Family Paper Company, for a start. In turn, if the wellbeing of his employees is on the line, Michael will always step up to do the right thing. Lampshaded by Jim when a rival branch manager sells out his employees for a promotion:
->'''Jim:''' Say what you will about Michael Scott, but he would never do that.
* KarmaHoudini: Also depends on the story. Really only in the legal sense is he a Houdini, as the show makes it rather clear that most of the people he knows try to avoid being around him if they have a choice in the matter, so he suffers in that regard.
* KickTheDog: Whenever Toby is around, mostly in regard to his divorce.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Michael invading Stanley's privacy and telling the office that he cheated on his wife. Despite the fact that Michael is portrayed as being in the wrong for invading his privacy, it's hard to feel too bad for Stanley when Michael tells everyone that he cheated on his wife. Because, after all, ''he's'' the one who cheated on his wife to begin with.
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: This might be one of his defining character traits: he's remarkably ignorant of most things to the point of delusion (one shining example shows him claiming to be a regular in all of New York's fineries, and then promptly listing all of the tourist trap restaurants in Times Square as his favourite locales), but it doesn't stop him feigning brilliance on whatever subject he's talking about.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: His relationship with Pam is sort of like a crazy big brother. Protective and loving, but she has most of the responsibility. Best seen when he shows up at her art show when no one else does, and tells her how proud he is of her.
%%* LordErrorProne
* {{Malaproper}}: Occasionally he uses the wrong word - for example in one episode he opens a casino for charity in the Warehouse; stating that he considers himself "a great [[YouKeepUsingThatWord philanderer]]". [[note]]He means "philanthropist".[[/note]]
* ManChild: He often comes across as a clueless teenager in an adult's body. Lampshaded by Pam, who notes that Jan basically has to treat him like a 10 year old.
* TheMatchMaker:
** Subverted in that Michael believes he's the one who first put Jim and Pam together. After they have their first child and attempts to do the same to the rest of the office.
** He tried to be this for Erin and ''Kevin'' in one episode, even after Erin tells him that she likes Andy. As usual he was [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter completely wrong.]]
* MeanBoss: An interesting example where he ''tries'' to be a BenevolentBoss (and at times is), but his giant ego and immaturity make him greatly disliked by his workers.
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: When he tries to describe Dwight's betrayal in "The Coup":
-->'''Michael:''' Business is like a jungle, I am like a tiger, and Dwight is like the monkey that stabs the tiger in the back with a stick. Does the tiger fire the monkey? Does he transfer the monkey to a different branch? (eyes light up) Pun! There is no way of knowing what is going on inside the tiger's head. We don't have that kind of technology.
* MistakenForGay: According to Phyllis: She and Michael's classmates in high school thought he was gay due to the outfits he wore.
* MistakenForPedophile: The former TropeNamer; he picks "Little Kid Lover" as his dating username to show that he's good with children, and the poor guy doesn't realize what it ''really'' implies until it's too late.
* NeverMyFault: When someone (usually Pam) explain that a problem happened because of him, he'll quickly deny it and/or turn the blame on the person in question.
* NoSocialSkills: He does not think before he speaks. When in a counseling session with Toby, he even [[BlatantLies claimed to have been raised by wolves at one point.]] It would have certainly explained a lot.
* OneHourWorkWeek: Michael manages to pull this trope off despite the show taking place at his job. He seemingly has no administrative duties and has all the time he wants to spend on his frivolous hobbies, activities and meetings. "The Fight" explains that his main responsibility is to simply sign a few papers at the end of every week, which he always childishly puts off to the last minute.
* ParentalSubstitute: To Erin, who doesn't have parents.
* ThePeterPrinciple: A textbook example. He was and still is a great salesman, which is how he got promoted to management, a job for which he has absolutely no aptitude.
* PointyHairedBoss: A perfect example of ThePeterPrinciple in action. He was a very good salesman who got promoted to regional manager, a job in which he is completely in over his head. He does have his moments of clarity, in which he's actually the BenevolentBoss he so desperately wants to be, but those moments are few and far in between.
* PutOnABus: Towards the end of season 7. But he returns BackForTheFinale to be Dwight's best man at his wedding.
* ShipperOnDeck: He has been a huge Jim and Pam fanboy since the day Jim told him about his feelings for Pam.
* SleepingWithTheBoss: His rather rocky extended relationship with his boss Jan.
* SmallNameBigEgo: He vastly overestimates the amount of impact he has on his employees.
* StepfordSmiler: He likes to act as the funny guy who's always joking around but he's actually a deeply lonely man who DesperatelyCravesAffection.
* TookALevelInKindness: In Season 2 he starts doing things for his office like taking them out to Chilli's for the Dundies, and hosting a casino night. Michael also shows his sensitive side around kids in this season. By the end of the series, he is a very different character.
* TwoFirstNames: His first and last name can both be used as a given name for a male.
* UltimateJobSecurity: Played with constantly. Many of his antics are seen as counter-productive and a drain on the company's resources and it's noted on several occasions that his job consists mainly of a few minor administrative tasks (which he still manages to struggle with). His job is under threat on more than one occasion during series and several of his bosses at corporate admonish him over his lack of responsibility. However it's shown on several occasions (notably in "The Client", "Initiation" and "Golden Ticket") that Michael is responsible for singlehandedly pulling in some of the company's biggest clients and his office is probably the most unified of all the branches making him far too valuable to the company to let go. Significantly, Michael only ever leaves the company of his own volition.
* UnfortunateImplications: In-universe. He does not stop and think that some of the well-intentioned things he's saying could be potentially offensive. Like choosing "Little Kid Lover" as a username.
* UngratefulBastard: On various occasions. Even when his workers go along with his crazy ideas, he'll often wind up complaining, yelling, and acting like a SpoiledBrat.
* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Varies throughout episodes.
* VerbalTic:
** "That's what she said" veers into this on occasion, especially in "The Deposition", where he does it in response to something he said himself and doesn't even seem to realize he's doing it.
** When he's lying or being forced to agree to something, he tends to mutter "yesh," and for the most part, this fools nobody.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Generally, what is GenreSavvy in Michael's head is actually WrongGenreSavvy in the real world, and vice versa.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dwight Kurt Schrute III]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Dwight_2755.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''“Nothing stresses me out. Except having to seek the approval of my inferiors.”'']]
->Played by: Creator/RainnWilson
->Seasons: 1-9

Sales Representative/Assistant to the Regional Manager/Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin, Scranton.

UK counterpart: Gareth Keenan.
----

* HiddenDepths: "Moroccan Christmas" shows he's great at making drinks.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Noted by Jim in reaction to Josh Porter abandoning the Stamford branch by accepting a better job at staples: not even Michael would ever do that.

* VerbalTic: "That's what she said" veers into this on occasion, especially in "The Deposition", where he does it in response to something he said himself and doesn't even seem to realize he's doing it.

* CripplingOverspecialization: Experience in sales done with a few repeat clients in a highly personal manner doesn't translate into telemarketing very well, as Michael finds out in "Money". Also a key part of his character, considering he was promoted to Regional Manager because of his sales skills, which didn't exactly convert to managerial skill in his new position.

KarmaHoudini: Also depends on the story. Really only in the legal sense is he a Houdini, as the show makes it rather clear that most of the people he knows try to avoid being around him if they have a choice in the matter, so he suffers in that regard.

* UltimateJobSecurity: Played with constantly. Many of his antics are seen as counter-productive and a drain on the company's resources and it's noted on several occasions that his job consists mainly of a few minor administrative tasks (which he still manages to struggle with). His job is under threat on more than one occasion during series and several of his bosses at corporate admonish him over his lack of responsibility. However it's shown on several occasions (notably in "The Client", "Initiation" and "Golden Ticket") that Michael is responsible for singlehandedly pulling in some of the company's biggest clients and his office is probably the most unified of all the branches which makes Michael far too valuable to the company to let go. Significantly, Michael only ever leaves the company of his own volition.

->'''Jim:''' Say what you will about Michael Scott, but he would never do that. KarmaHoudini: Also depends on the story. Really only in the legal sense is he a Houdini, as the show makes it rather clear that most of the people he knows try to avoid being around him if they have a choice in the matter, so he suffers in that regard.

* {{Jerkass}}: He's always cruel to Toby for no reason and, in general, he's selfish, shallow, and obnoxious whether he realizes it or not.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Depends on the story. Sometimes it is zig-zagged within that - for instance, in ''Goodbye Toby'', he breaks down weeping when he finds out about Ryan defrauding the company and thus shafting his entire life, but the episode revolves around him celebrating Toby's leaving the office and culminates with him getting security to escort Toby from the building as a final insult. In the same episode he shows compassion for a fraudster, but can't even swallow his hatred to let Toby leave the company with dignity.
* KarmaHoudini: Also depends on the story. Really only in the legal sense is he a Houdini, as the show makes it rather clear that most of the people he knows try to avoid being around him if they have a choice in the matter, so he suffers in that regard.

* MyOwnPrivateIDo: On Maid of the Mist. Apparently, he got the tickets as soon as he saw the YouTube video of the wedding dance routine.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: Some of his more lucid moments have Michael realizing that he doesn't receive the respect that is due to him by merit of his position if nothing else. Such moments are typically staggering enough to his normal behavior that he tends to act like a man with his job would normally, and as such, have a few [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome moments of awesome]].

* EvenTheGuysWantHim: {{Lampshaded}}. Ryan confirms Angela's boyfriend is gay because he liked Ryan's pictures on facebook. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny At three in the morning.]] Not to mention Michael's man crush on him.