The Office Scene That Made Every Fan (And Michael Scott) Ugly Cry Was Totally Unscripted

Although The Office had an incredible nine-season run, most fans believe that the first seven seasons are better than the last two. This is largely due to the genius of Michael Scott.

Steve Carell's performance as the regional manager was a big part of what made Dunder Mifflin such an absurdly fun place to work.

When Michael announced that he was leaving Scranton to start a new life with his fiancée Holly, his co-workers were shocked, but eventually came to terms with this decision.

Of course, Michael couldn't go out without a fuss, so he decided to host the final Dundie Awards. Like all The Dundies, the night eventually went awry. However, Dunder Mifflin workers managed to lure Michael back to the office for one last farewell song.

The song, which is a remix of Rent's classic hit Seasons of Love, is perhaps the greatest display of open love Michael's subordinates have ever showered upon him. Throughout the song you can see how emotional Michael is, but the emotion goes far beyond the acting.

And that’s because Steve Carell didn't actually know about that scene and was as surprised as we were. The Office cast rehearsed the song called 9,986,000 Minutes (yes, they did the math) for several days in secret from Carell.

Now, this moment definitely needs to be revisited with the realization that Steve Carell's emotions are actually the most sincere and genuine. And frankly, it breaks our hearts.

Michael Scott is the character who has changed the most during his seven seasons on The Office. If the character was obnoxious and irritating in the first season, the real transformation began right after that.

In fact, over the course of seven years, the writers managed to achieve an important goal – to create a completely new character who is completely different from David Brent of the British version of the show.

Michael Scott is a man who desperately wants to be loved. And because of that desire, he often embarrasses himself and annoys his co-workers. In many ways, this whole image works perfectly thanks to Steve Carell's performance – the writers are confident that it was he who breathed life into the character.