“ | That's what she said | „ |
~ Michael's favorite catchphrase |
Michael Gary Scott (born March 15, 1964) is the central character of the NBC sitcom The Office. He is based on David Brent from the British version of the show, and is played by Steve Carell.
Throughout the first seven seasons of the show, Michael is regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. During the fifth season, he leaves the company to set up the Michael Scott Paper Company, however he returns to Dunder Mifflin and shares the regional manager position with Jim Halpert. When Dunder Mifflin is brought by Sabre, Jim is briefly made the sole manager before returning to sales and Michael re-instated as sole regional manager. At the end of season seven, he proposes to to Human Resources representative Holly Flax and moves to Colorado with her, leaving the manager position to Deangelo Vickers, and eventually, Dwight Schrute.
Biography[]
Michael was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on March 15, 1964, and frequently talks about his loneliness as a child. He claims to be of English, Irish, Scottish and German ancestry. He claims to have been a child star on the program Fundle Bundle, but this was later proven to be false.
He was hired as a salesman at Dunder Mifflin on May 6, 1992 and proved to be extremely effective, which resulted in him being promoted to regional manager.
Despite being a successful salesman, Michael is shown to be an incompetent manager and tries to inject his personal feelings into the work environment, and has few relationships outside the office. He overestimates the importance of his co-workers, and can't understand why they're not enjoying themselves, as he believes an office is a "place where dreams come true." Despite this, Michael genuinely cares for his employees and tries to help them when they have problems.
Michael constantly desires to be at the center of attention, which result in him being slightly selfish. For example, when he accidentally burns his foot on his George Foreman Grill in the episode "The Injury", he expects Pam Beesly and Ryan Howard to tend to his every need, despite Dwight Schrute's more serious concussion. When invited to be an usher at Phyllis Vance's wedding, he believes himself to be the main act of the event and gets upset when he is upstaged by Phyllis's elderly father.
Michael is irresponsible at finances, and at one point was so heavily in debt that he had to take a second job as a telemarketer. Oscar Martinez creates a chart of Michael's spending habits, and chides him for spending money on things "nobody ever needs", like multiple magic sets and a set of fishing equipment. Eventually, Michael is forced to declare bankruptcy (which he only thinks requires standing up and saying "I declare bankruptcy!").
Due to his overall lack of common sense, Michael is frequently abused by his peers and is the butt of many jokes, and takes offense when he realizes he's being wronged. Similarly, he tends to unintentionally offend people, but will usually apologize when he realizes he has insulted someone, notably in the episode "Gay Witch Hunt", when he realizes that the term "faggy" hurt Oscar's feelings. Even though he is generally oblivious to criticism, Michael has limits to his patience, and leaves to question the extent of the offense he can acknowledge.
In the episode "The Meeting", it is revealed that Michael doesn't care for the betterment for his employees or himself, believing it would put his job at jeopardy, and turns down a promotion that would put Jim in his position, and sabotages him with a bad recommendation because he believes he'll get fired if Jim is promoted. He eventually gives Jim a co-manager position to avoid losing him.
After leaving Dunder Mifflin, Michael is appointed to be the Director of Paper Distribution for the Department of Natural Resources in Boulder, Colorado.
Personality and Management Style[]
Despite his effective sales skills, Michael is lacking in almost all other skills. Jim once created a graph that shows Michaels spends 80% of his time "distracting others", 19% "procrastination", and 1% "critical thinking." He also added the he inflated the "critical thinking" section so people could see it on the graph. Michael's laid back approach results in low workplace productivity, particularly when he places personal interests as a priority over work. To avoid being disciplined for his actions, Michael resorts to scapegoating his employees to cover for himself. Michael described the Scranton branch as "The cool, fun branch... Like Animal House", and is upset when a Dunder Mifflin Utica salesman tells him that Scranton is "worse than Camden."
Although his position as regional manager gives him authority on making decisions, he prefers to prioritize strengthening his relationship with his employees. He also abuses his authority by holding events that his superiors disapprove of, such as The Dundies Award Ceremony, and a booze cruise. It is revealed in the episode "The Duel" that, despite Michael's incompetence, the Scranton branch is the best-performing company branch, well ahead of Utica and Nashua. Michael is called to Corporate to answer the question, "What are you doing right?" After several minutes of Michael's inarticulate babble, his superiors concede that while Michael is definitely doing something right, they will probably never know exactly what. They send him on a lecture tour for Michael to spread his wisdom; instead, he wastes time and annoys the workers who have to listen to his drivel.
In the episode "Business School", Michael is one of the few Dunder Mifflin employees to show up to Pam's gallery showing. Unlike Oscar and his then-boyfriend Gil, who had shown up and were critical of Pam's drawings (which Pam overheard), Michael immediately marvels at her work and asks to buy Pam's drawing of their office building. In a moment of sincere kindness, Michael tells Pam that he is very proud of her. Pam begins to tear up and hugs Michael, who also seems touched by Pam's reaction. During "The Seminar", Michael advises a fledgling Andy Bernard to step up and begin selling at a seminar Andy's hosting, in order to boost his sagging sales. It seems clear that Michael loves Dunder Mifflin very much, but he has also shown signs that he sometimes feels under-appreciated, given his long history with the company. In the episode "The Negotiation", Michael discovers that he is making only slightly more money than Darryl Philbin, the warehouse manager, even though at that point he had worked for the company for 14 years and was in a management position. Later in the episode he drives to New York and demands a raise from Jan Levinson at corporate headquarters. In the episode "New Boss", after Dunder Mifflin's CFO David Wallace ducks Michael's calls throughout the day and Michael's 15-year anniversary party is cancelled by Michael's new superior, Charles Miner, Michael drives to New York to confront Wallace. Citing his long history of service with the company and his many sacrifices for Dunder Mifflin, Michael asks that he be treated more respectfully. Wallace, seeing Michael's heartfelt openness, promises Michael his party and pledges to attend, as well. But Michael surprisingly recognizes that the CFO is just humoring him, and stuns Wallace by quitting his job.
Interests[]
Michael's catchphrase is "That's what she said!", a sexually suggestive double entendre he uses even in the most inappropriate circumstances, including business meetings and legal depositions. Michael finds uttering the phrase so irresistible that in "Sexual Harassment" he is goaded into saying it just seconds after Jan Levinson and a lawyer from Corporate specifically ask him not to do so.
Michael enjoys writing song parodies. In "Goodbye, Toby", it is said that he had written songs such as "Beers in Heaven" (which he tells Holly is "very sexual") and "Total Eclipse of the Fart". In "Diwali", Michael performs his own parody of Adam Sandler's "The Chanukah Song", replacing the Jewish-themed lyrics with that of Hindu ones.
Michael has a history of playing ice hockey, and demonstrates his talent in "Michael's Birthday." He has also expressed his interest in basketball, even though he's terrible at it.
Michael treasures his "World's Best Boss" mug, even though he bought it for himself at Spencer Gifts and has multiple replacements. The audience knows that he has purchased at least two, because Dwight precariously places one of them on Michael's desk, and Michael accidentally knocks it off with a golf putter that he was using to practice with in his office. This is also proven in "The Promotion", when Michael presents Jim with his own "World's Best Boss" mug at the end of the episode that they share gin with each other.
Michael likes Chrysler cars. For the first three seasons, he drove a silver 2004 Sebring convertible, until the season four episode "Money" in which he mentions he traded it in (along with Jan's car) for a Porsche Boxster. After breaking up with Jan, he buys a red PT Cruiser convertible. He drives the PT Cruiser until the season 5 episode "Broke" in which he asks for a new Sebring convertible as part of his agreement to return to Dunder Mifflin.
Michael is a passionate fan of YouTube and Wikipedia, although he may not be entirely clear about what they are and seems to believe that they're news media organizations. He is an avid fan of the HBO television series, Entourage. It is also established that Michael tends to be a bit "behind" when it comes to pop culture references, particularly in music. This is mainly shown through his cellphone ringtones, such as "My Humps" early on in the show, or "Salt N Pepa" in "The Lover".
Michael is a big fan of the film The Devil Wears Prada, implying that he has rented it multiple times. He is also a fan of animated movies with mentions of Finding Nemo and Toy Story in episodes, allowing an insight into Michael's naive, simple side which appreciates warmth.
Relationships[]
Michael tends to overestimate his importance to his employees, and, despite constantly offending some of them, has a close bond with them. Most of the employees have been the focus of Michael's jokes at one point or another, usually in reference to their race, sex, size, attractiveness, or sexual orientation. Examples of Michael's difficult relationship with his staff include getting slapped by Kelly for being racist, hitting Meredith with his car, getting kicked out of Phyllis and Bob's wedding, and outing Oscar to the entire office without his permission. They are, however, generally sympathetic to his shortcomings and, while regularly losing patience when he interrupts their workflow, often try to assist him with his personal problems.
Michael's relationship with the company warehouse employees is tense. He has a tendency to disrupt their daily work flow, and in a talking head interview, warehouse supervisor Darryl Philbin explains that they have never been able to make a full year accident-free because of Michael's antics. CFO David Wallace tolerates Michael's antics because he values his loyalty to the company, but Michael offends CEO Allan and the rest of the executives during his only meeting with them.
Although many Dunder Mifflin employees are initially barely able to tolerate Michael, they gradually grow to appreciate his sincere intentions, even at times coming to find amusement in his sophomoric humor and behavior; this transition is most apparent in Pam Halpert, with whom he eventually develops a genuine friendship. His co-workers are overjoyed when Michael finds his soulmate in Holly Flax, participate in his romantic proposal to her and are shown to be emotional at his leaving Scranton to be with her. Jim Halpert even teared up while calling Michael "the best boss [he] ever had."
Dwight Schrute[]
Dwight has the most respect for Michael, viewing him as a model for success, and is thrilled when asked to handle any task given to him, however ill-conceived it may be. Although on the surface, Michael usually appears dismissive of Dwight and generally views him as a suck-up, he is genuinely hurt and angry at the few times when Dwight has deceived him, such as when Dwight went over Michael's head to vie for the manager's job or when Dwight refused to reveal office secrets to Michael's new company, the Michael Scott Paper Company. In the episode "Heavy Competition" , Dwight steals Michael's Rolodex and finds his own business card, on the back of which, Michael had written (before leaving Dunder Mifflin): "Dwight Schrute, tall, beets". Michael also cares how Dwight feels about him. After Michael beats Dwight at his own dojo, Michael finds out that Dwight no longer wanted Michael as his primary contact in case of an emergency which causes Michael to promote him from "Assistant to the Regional Manager" to "Assistant Regional Manager", with a three-month probational period. Dwight told Michael in season six that Michael's pathetic career path hurt Dwight and he regretted working for him instead of taking a fast-track job at Home Depot, but they buried their differences later on. When Deangelo Vickers arrives to be the new Branch Manager, Dwight is depressed that he didn't get the job after Michael recommended him, only to learn from Gabe that Michael didn't recommend him after all. At first Dwight is angry with Michael, but they make amends when Michael gives him a letter of recommendation on his final day at Dunder Mifflin. They end the day with a paintball fight behind the building. In the series finale, Michael is the best man at Dwight's wedding after Jim arranges it.
Ryan Howard[]
Michael has a one-sided mancrush on Ryan, which makes Ryan uncomfortable. Examples of this are when Michael gave Ryan a $400 iPod for the staff's Christmas Secret Santa exchange, despite an agreed upon office limit of $20 per person, and when in "The Dundies", Michael gives Ryan the "Hottest in the Office" award. Michael appears to view Ryan both as an idolized friend, such as when he grew a goatee just because Ryan also grew one, or as a son, which he says he views Ryan as in "Secret Santa". In "The Deposition", a page from Michael's diary reveals he describes Ryan as being "just as hot as Jan, but in a different way." He is horrified when he finds out about Ryan's arrest for fraud, and much to the dismay of David Wallace, he re-hires Ryan despite the fact that he was fired by corporate office for his crime. He later earns Ryan's respect when Ryan sees Michael's talents as a salesman over the phone. In "Prince Family Paper", Michael acknowledges that his heart has led him astray before, naming Jan and Ryan as examples of this. In season seven, Michael shows the full gamut of his ties to Ryan: he heavily invests in WUPHF.com and won't agree to sell his majority shares when it's clear Ryan is incapable of saving the venture from bankruptcy, although Ryan exploits Michael's goodwill in their friendship to keep his venture going. But Ryan is later stunned when Michael later calls out his negative qualities and makes it clear Ryan only has nine days with no wiggle room before he fails everyone. Michael is later relieved when Ryan sells the project and everyone gets their money back. Ryan later appears as part of the group to help Michael brainstorm a perfect proposal to Holly.
Jim and Pam Halpert[]
Michael doesn't hesitate to compliment or criticize Pam for her looks and he frequently mentions her breasts. In the episode "Diwali" Michael mistakenly thinks that he and Pam have a connection, and is rejected when he tries to kiss her. Throughout their relationship, Pam has served as something of a shoulder angel for Michael by encouraging him to be more productive and discouraging his bad ideas, with varying degrees of success. She grows closer to Michael as he supports her goals in pursuing sales and art. Pam is visibly touched when, after many art show attendees dismiss her artwork, Michael is so impressed that he asks to buy her painting of their office building. Their relationship comes to a rocky point when he begins dating her mother Helene. This is only repaired after he breaks up with Helene and allows Pam to slap him in the face in the parking lot. He trusts and respects Jim, although when they were co-managers they clashed due to their polar-opposite management styles. In "Secret Santa", Michael mentions that in a future vision he sees himself and his future wife living next door to Jim and Pam and that their children will play together. He often also refers to Jim as his best friend in the office, although, based on his impersonation of Jim using surfer slang in "Michael's Last Dundies", does not have a very good understanding of his personality. While Jim and Pam are both shown to care about Michael, his clingy nature makes them reluctant to socialize with him outside of the office; such as when, after numerous unsuccessful invitations, Michael is forced to trick them in order to have them over for a disastrous dinner in the episode "Dinner Party." In a season five episode, Michael also shows his admiration for Jim, when Jim wears a tuxedo to work and goes on and on about having a 'classy party' for the party planning committee, and frequently suggests all of the ideas Dwight had offered that Michael had then rejected, only to bother Dwight by having Michael accept the same ideas from him. During Cecilia Halpert's baptism, Michael approaches Pam referring to himself as "the godfather" while imitating Don Corleone, after which she sympathetically but emphatically asks him to acknowledge that he won't be Cece's godfather, he is disappointed but does so and is hurt to learn that the godparents are a couple they'd only recently met. Pam is shown to have a soft spot for Michael, consoling him after he finds Holly to be in a relationship with AJ, and her advising him on ideas on how to propose to Holly. In "Goodbye, Michael" it is revealed that Michael is secretly planning to leave for Colorado at the end of his penultimate work day, thereby avoiding having to say goodbye to everyone. Jim figures this out and goes along with it, telling Michael that he will tell him what a great boss he was the following day at lunch, which they both know Michael will not be around for; Michael and Jim both get sentimental during this final conversation between them. The strength of his relationship with Pam is revealed as he continuously enquires of her whereabouts, not wanting to leave without saying goodbye. Pam, who spent the better part of the day away from the office finds Michael at the airport and says goodbye in a touching scene just as he's about to board his plane for Colorado. She watches from the window as his plane flies off. In a deleted scene of "The Inner Circle", Pam is flattered that Michael named his new dog "Pamela Beagsley." Pam later teases Jim that their second child will be named "little Michael Scott" displaying the affection she had developed for her former boss.
Toby Flenderson[]
Despite liking the majority of the staff, Michael fiercely hates Human Resources Manager Toby Flenderson, likely due to Toby's requirement to enforce the rules of proper office behavior that Michael loves to flout. Michael once reasoned that "Toby is in HR, which technically means he works for Corporate. So he’s really not a part of our family. He's also divorced so he's not a part of his family either". His longtime goal is to get rid of Toby and any attempts at reconciliation between the two usually backfire, with Michael resorting to name calling or jokes at Toby's expense. In the episode "Goodbye, Toby", Michael is thrilled when Toby decides to move to Costa Rica and gives as his going away present a rock with a note that reads "Suck on this". The next season, after Toby's replacement Holly is transferred, Michael is horrified when Toby returns to Dunder Mifflin. In "Frame Toby", he goes to great lengths to get him fired, trying to frame him for possession of marijuana (which turns out to be a caprese salad). In "The Chump", Michael says if he had a gun with two bullets and was in a room with Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and Toby, he would shoot Toby twice (which disgusts the rest of the office). In "Nepotism", after Michael spanks Luke, the office intern who is also his nephew, he is ordered to attend counseling sessions moderated by Toby, much to Michael's horror. At first Michael is uncooperative but is gradually tricked by Toby into discussing details of his life and childhood. In "Classy Christmas", Michael is happy to hear the news that Toby is going to be on a leave of absence for jury duty and that Holly will be taking his place. In "Michael's Last Dundies", Michael eggs Toby's house in the cold open while yelling, "you suck", while he and Deangelo are handing out Dundie nominations. Ironically, Michael is shown to have befriended Toby's daughter Sasha in "Take Your Daughter to Work". In "Goodbye, Michael", Michael is seen saying goodbye to Toby without insulting him, possibly indicating that he will miss Toby on some level. Toby suggests Michael visit his brother Rory, who also lives in Colorado.
Erin Hannon[]
Once Pam is promoted to salesperson following Dunder Mifflin's buyout of The Michael Scott Paper Company, Michael keeps Erin as her replacement. He is initially unkind to her as he misses having Pam as his receptionist, but she is able to earn his respect by cheering him up after his disastrous school visit in "Scott's Tots." Unlike her predecessor, Erin loves working as a receptionist, admires Michael and cheerfully accommodates many of his unusual requests (such as serving him a plate of ants on a log every day at 2:30 and spinning him in his chair until he's dizzy) that Pam likely would have been apprehensive about. Although he generally enjoys Erin's thoughtful treatment, his dismissive feelings towards Erin continue until "Secretary's Day" when he reluctantly agrees to take her out to lunch. Erin relishes the opportunity to spend time with her boss while Michael finds their conversation awkward and mentions that her then-boyfriend Andy Bernard was previously engaged to Angela Martin of which Erin was previously unaware, she is upset to learn this and ends her relationship with Andy. Later that day, Michael apologizes to Erin; the two are finally able to relate to each other over their mutual fondness for silly humor, stemming from their similar immature tendencies (with Michael's ignorance and Erin's naïveté). Their working relationship then develops smoothly while they bond by making each other laugh with childish jokes, such as Erin pointing out that the phrase "it's not" sounds like "snot." In "Viewing Party", Erin throws a Glee party with her new boyfriend, Gabe Lewis. Throughout the night, she unsuccessfully attempts to get Michael and Gabe to bond. Michael is jealous that the office looks to Gabe as the boss and attempts to sabotage the party. After being confronted by Erin in private, Michael questions why his opinion matters so much to her as he is not her father. In a moment of insight, Michael realizes that Erin, who was raised in foster care, does indeed look to him as a father figure and he instigates a playful fight as father and daughter by saying "go to your room, young lady!" Erin becomes protective of Michael to the point where she is hostile towards Holly Flax, saying in a talking head interview that she doesn't understand what Michael sees in her, until "The Search" when she, Dwight and Holly go searching for a missing Michael. Erin sees that Holly is able to sense where Michael is, and when she sees them reconcile, she finally understands their love for each other and smiles. Later in "Goodbye, Michael", Erin talks to Michael about her love life and wishes that she knew her birth mother so she could tell Erin what to do. Michael advises Erin that she shouldn't rush things and that she'll know what to do when the right guy comes along. Michael then tells her that she won't need her mother for advice, because she will always have his personal phone number when she needs advice and kisses her on the head.
Holly Flax[]
Shortly after the dissolution of his troubled relationship with Jan, Michael found love with Holly Flax, Toby's replacement as HR Representative, who appears for a while to be Michael's best chance at love, with the two sharing a similar sense of humor and social awkwardness. However, after David Wallace witnesses them kissing, Holly is transferred to the Nashua branch and she and Michael break up after choosing not to pursue a long-distance relationship. Even despite the breakup and Holly's new relationship with another man, their affection for each other doesn't go away, as it's shown that Holly had been writing a note for Michael on her work computer, as well as their subtle romantic glances at one another during the summer company picnic. Throughout her absence in season five (excluding "Company Picnic") and carrying on into season seven, Michael hooks up with a few other women, but ultimately he realizes that they're nothing compared to her. Around Christmas in season seven, Toby is forced to leave the office due to being selected as part of the jury duty for a local murder case, resulting in Holly returning as the temporary HR replacement. There's initial tension between the two of them and hesitation on her side (mostly after her sudden break-up with A.J.), but Holly finally reunites with Michael after realizing they're both soulmates. The two continue dating for a few weeks, and on Valentine's Day, they tell each other they love each other, decide to move in together, and resolve that they will not allow Dunder Mifflin to interfere with their future together. With her time at the Scranton branch almost up and the recent knowledge that her aging parents need to be taken care of, they ultimately become fiancees. Holly later moves back to Colorado and Michael follows her soon after. In the finale it is revealed that they have children together. It was revealed in a photo album on NBC.com that they have 3 children and are expecting their fourth child.
Other romantic relations[]
Michael's longest relationship to date has been with Jan Levinson, his original-then-former boss from Corporate. Starting with a one-night stand after they closed their business deal at Chilli's in "The Client" (which featured guest star Tim Meadows as the eponymous client), Michael and Jan begin awkward dating, become an official couple, and eventually move in together after Jan is fired from her job — although it should be noted that Jan usually treated Michael with contempt. After Michael fails to defend Jan in her Wrongful Dismissal suit against Dunder Mifflin, they remain together for a short while, but end up blowing up at each other during an ill-fated dinner party and eventually break up. He also dated Carol (played by Carell's wife Nancy Walls), a real estate agent from whom Michael bought his condominium. Michael was much more interested in Carol than vice versa, and after he made an unwanted and rejected impromptu public marriage proposal, Michael's decision to Photoshop pictures of himself over Carol's ex-husband in her family pictures resulted in their breakup. On a business trip to Winnipeg, Michael & "Concierge Marie" become close, and Michael does not wish to leave her after they are caught necking in her suite. After Jim and Pam's wedding, Michael begins dating Pam's mother Helene (much to Pam's horror), but he breaks up with her after discovering she is 58. Near the end of season six, Michael begins dating Donna , the manager of a local bar, but later finds out that she's married and he is, as he puts it, "the mistress". He continues seeing her until the disgust of his employees drives him to listen to his conscience and break things off with her. In the season seven episode "Sex Ed", Michael reunites (in person or by telephone) with all of his aforementioned past girlfriends when he believes that he has contracted Herpes. In doing so, he realizes that Holly was the only one he truly loved.
Alter egos[]
Given his habit of constantly trying to keep his employees entertained (and coupled with his juvenile personality), Michael has created a variety of different alter egos which he uses for both entertainment, and, at times, educational purposes. Often at times he uses these characters names to hide transacting information, and at one point his credit card uses "Michael Scarn", instead of Michael Scott.
- Ping ("The Dundies", "The Seminar", "Goodbye, Michael"), a Chinese caricature based on Michael's Chinese food delivery man.
- Agent Michael Scarn ("Threat Level Midnight", "The Client", "E-mail Surveillance", referenced in "Product Recall", "Money", "Dinner Party", "Prince Family Paper") is the star of Threat Level Midnight, a derivative spy/action hero screenplay written and illustrated by Michael. He had kept it hidden in his desk drawer until it was discovered by Pam without his knowledge and photocopied so the staff could stage a rollicking reading of it while Michael was on a sales call. A thinly veiled portrayal of himself, Michael also adopts the persona in one session of his improv comedy class, ignoring the rule to base his dialogue on his scene partners, and ultimately shooting everyone in the room, regardless of their participation in the scene. He also uses the alias in another episode to go undercover in a local paper competitor to attain information from it. ("Prince Family Paper")
- Prison Mike ("The Convict") wears a purple bandana over his head, speaking in a caricature of New York English, and explains that he is in prison for theft, robbery and kidnapping the president's son for ransom (although he claims, in knee-jerk defensiveness, that he was never caught). He proceeds to paint an awful, and somewhat fanciful, picture of prison life. He states that the scariest part of prison is the Dementors. The character is likely the result of Michael's take on the Scared Straight! documentary series.
- Michael the Magic ("Cocktails") attempts to escape from a straitjacket but fails because of a lost key (actually hidden by Jim). Michael's fondness for magic is referenced throughout the series, including an off-screen visit to a children's magic camp. Michael also attempts to utilize a magic prop briefcase (which included a working chainsaw) while speaking at Karen's Utica branch in "Lecture Circuit". In the cold open for "Nepotism", he is seen performing numerous, albeit repetitive, magic tricks.
- Michael Klump ("Weight Loss", referenced in "Garage Sale") attempts to show that overweight people are people too. Michael wears a partially inflated sumo suit underneath a business suit, and is patterned after the Eddie Murphy character in the Nutty Professor remakes.
- Michael Scotch ("New Boss") was co-created when Michael and Dwight were trying to contact David Wallace to complain when Charles Miner cancelled Michael's fifteenth anniversary party because of budget cuts. Michael Scotch is an overly aggressive character who threatens that he has kidnapped David Wallace's son.
- Blind Guy McSqueezy ("The Lover") is a character Michael created at his improv class so he could feel up women.
- Caleb Crawdad ("Murder") is a Southern persona used for the purposes of a murder mystery game.
- Date Mike ("Happy Hour") is a personality Michael takes on when on a date. Michael creates this personality when Jim points out to him that Pam's friend likes him. Up to that point, Michael had been charming and likable, but Date Mike completely ruined things and the friend fled in disgust. Ironically, Michael felt Date Mike was successful because he impressed Donna, while Jim thought Date Mike was a disaster because he didn't know about Donna. Michael says Date Mike is inspired by watching dating competitions, saying " I absorb information, from the strategies of winners. And the losers! Actually I probably learn more from the losers.". Date Mike comes off as egotistical and introduces himself with the line "Hi, I'm Date Mike. Nice to meet me. How do you like your eggs in the morning?"
- Scranton Strangler ("Happy Hour")(Bloopers Season 6) appears in the same episode as Date Mike, although he only appears in the blooper reel for the sixth season. Michael claims that "Oh, I'm working on a new one. Scranton Strangler... 'Hey, I'm going to kill you...'" The character was cut from the aired version of the episode.
- Mike Leno is an interview personality that is a parody of Jay Leno.
- Santa Bond is an obvious parody of James Bond that Michael uses to help make Holly Flax notice him sexier in ("Classy Christmas"). However, it only appeared in that episode so far, and was replaced by a Santa Claus outfit later in the episode.
- Reginald Poofta is Michael's English character, briefly mentioned but never actually seen in "The Seminar". Michael brings up the character after running into David Brent.
- Mykonos ("The Seminar"), a Greek character whose persona he develops with the help of Holly, used in order to pretend he is a potential customer interested in Andy's product. Michael states Mykonos was based on another character, Spiros, who is never again mentioned.
- Orville Tootenbacher ("The Search") is Michael's briefly mentioned "millionaire character that farts popcorn".
- Lord Rupert Everton is Michael's hopeful identity for his dream to be in the United States Federal Witness Protection Program.
Trivia[]
- Michael's favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip.
- He once worked as a greeter at Men's Warehouse.
- He plans to invent a hybrid between a chair and a pair of pants.
- He lost his virginity at the age of 28.
- He learned numerous lessons from the film Scream 2.
- He appeared in every episode until season seven's "The Inner Circle."