Rainn Wilson Talks 'Rocker' Moments, Dwight's Favorite Bands

Posted on Aug 1st 2008 1:00PM by Kim Davis
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Best known for his role as the tightly wound Dwight Schrute on TV's 'The Office,' Rainn Wilson has become something of a cultural icon. (How many Schrute Bucks do you have?) And while he's held several smaller roles on both the big and small screen, including last year's runaway indie hit 'Juno' and HBO's cult series 'Six Feet Under,' he makes his starring debut as an overspandexed has-been drummer from the '80s in 'The Rocker.' Wilson took time out to catch up with Spinner and talk about his real-life role as a music enthusiast and his own rock-star tendencies.

"There were a lot of perks," he told us of his recent promotional tour, which had him making appearances at music festivals this past spring, including Sasquatch. "I got to interview the Who. I was terrible. But it was a dream come true," he admits, calling Pete Townshend an "icon" and maintaining that behind Bob Dylan, "there's no other person I wound rather meet." But he isn't just about the veterans. During our talk, he drops names like Cold War Kids, the National, Fleet Foxes, the Raconteurs, Kings of Leon and Wilco. "I love Wilco," he gushes. "I just think they will be remembered like the Byrds were, as just a great American rock band. But ask him for his favorite of all time, he's quick to answer "Radiohead."

Unlike his characters Robert Fishman from 'The Rocker' and Dwight Schrute, who Wilson says "both like metal," he himself isn't a fan. "I like classic metal like AC/DC, Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, but as soon as they started wearing more makeup than my Aunt Mary Lou, I knew it was time to let that go." In fact, the 42-year-old actor was more interested in "punk and New Wave in the early '80s." He recalls, "Someone gave me a cassette tape of the Clash's 'London Calling' when I was, like, 16. It just completely changed my life."

Sound cool? He is. And from the looks of it, so is his three-and-a-half-year-old son, Walter, who he talks about like his best friend in the world. "He loves music," Wilson offers sweetly, allowing us a peek into their father-son singalongs. "He loves Eddie Vedder's 'Hard Sun,'" he says, and cites 'What Light,' by Wilco and 'Girl in the War,' by Josh Ritter as more songs he plays on guitar for his boy.

The same cool factor, however, does not apply to the perversely lovable Schrute and soon-to-be known Fishman. "Dwight would only want to listen to music if [it] served a purpose," he says. "If that purpose is to adrenalize you, then he'd be listening to thrash metal, like Megadeth or Slayer. He would say, 'This music triggers a response in my brain, and it helps me motivate. It's a very valuable tool.'" And while Wilson is amused at the fact that Fishman's favorite band would "probably be Guns N' Roses," he does respect the "art form" of hair-metal drumming – something he prepared for with "three weeks of drumming boot camp." He explains that it's "putting on a show – connecting with the audience, cueing pyrotechnics, lining up the hot girls for the singer – they're like Las Vegas showmen."

'The Rocker' opens in theaters today. Flip through the photos below for the Rainn Wilson quickfire round of questions to find out his own craziest rock-star moment.