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Rainn hits Portland

September 17, 2010

by Alissa Weber

Fans of “The Office” know and love Dwight Shrute as the ridiculous, awkward, beet-farming paper salesman of coworkers’ nightmares, but four members of the Lewis & Clark Interfaith group got to see a different side of Shrute last Tuesday, when the character’s actor Rainn Wilson stopped by Oregon Health & Science University to lecture on his Baha’i faith.

Unlike many celebrities, Wilson looked just like he does on television, and it was clear earlyon in his presentation that he shares many characteristics with the character that made him famous, including Dwight’s notoriously boastful ways.
Wilson did a serious of mock poses before starting the presentation so the audience could snap photos.

During the question and answer session, Wilson spoke on how the birth of his son brought him closer to God and the respect he had for his wife for doing nine months of work, when his contribution only lasted five minutes. The audience laughed, to which he promptly replied, “Okay, it was more like two minutes of work.” Hearing Wilson have a serious conversation about faith, while also keeping the mood light and the laughs constant, made it clear he was a comedian both on and off the set.

Who knew that the man behind the Big D could be a staunch Baha’i follower, married with a five-year old son? I guess even celebrities can lead semi-normal lives.