Behind The Brand: Are Rainn Wilson’s Best Roles Behind Him?

[Editor’s Note: Created by Bryan Elliott, Behind the Brand is a show that profiles the people who are making things happen. From up and comers to the big guys, we show you how they go about their business. Behind the Brand give you insights to grow your biz from the experts who’ve done it. Check out all installments of Behind the Brand here.]

Actor Rainn Wilson (aka Dwight Schrute) is about to close a chapter in what he recently tweeted as “the best job he’ll ever have.” NBC’s hit show The Office had a great run, and is going out in style with touching online video tributes from cast members. But the show’s upcoming conclusion made me think about Wilson’s statement and implications for the rest of us.

Is our best work behind us? If so, how do we move forward? I think of it like T.S. Eliot’s quote: “And the end of all our exploration will be to end where we first began, and know the place for the very first time.” Wilson is starting fresh and going to star in an upcoming TV drama that he’s also producing. But he’s also keeping himself very busy with fresh starts and initiatives in other mediums.

Besides acting, Rainn Wilson is an active humanitarian who takes trips to places like Haiti to do volunteer work. He’s also an entrepreneur and credited with co-foundering Soul Pancake, a bestselling book that became a website and community where people (especially Gen Yers and younger) can ask life’s big questions and get answers.

When YouTube announced their funded channel program, Soul Pancake become one of their new Original Channels producing unique and high(er) quality programming like the now famous Kid President series (which was recently, believe it or not, endorsed by the White House).

Is The Office the best job Wilson will ever have? The jury is still out but it seems like everything Rainn is involved in is related to making the world a better place. We went Behind the Brand to ask Rainn Wilson about how get got his start, holding grudges in Hollywood and more of life’s big questions. It just may help you to know the place at the end of your exploration. Watch this video and let me know what you think.

Bryan Elliott is a Southern California native with a previous 15-year history on the client side of strategy & brand marketing and production in industries like action sports, entertainment & movies, and digital tech. His recent credits include writer and executive producer of reality web series, Looks Easy, and Behind the Brand, a TV show that profiles the people in business who are making things happen. Behind the Brand is in its 4th season with over 50 full-length episodes and airs on cable TV networks and nationally online.

Bryan is an active writer, speaker, teacher & host. He has been a guest lecturer on university campuses including UCLA, USC, UCI, Champan University and more. He is the founder of Linked Orange County and The Action Sports Network, community builder and advocate of social business. You can find him on Twitter @BryanElliott.