There are several schools of thought when it comes to whether or not Michael Scott from The Office is a good boss. The Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch is obviously someone who has several flaws, but most of his actions do come from a good place.
But is that really enough? Though Michael is never taken seriously as a boss or even as a branch manager, his employees can’t bring themselves to despise him, simply because Michael is an incredible human being, and a significant improvement upon David Brent, his British counterpart. As famous and controversial as he is, there are many things fans don’t know about Michael.
He Is A Pisces
Michael’s birthday is March 15, which means he’s a Pisces. This makes sense because just like a true-blue Piscean, he’s ruled by his emotions and anxieties and is an impossible romantic.
Interestingly, Pisceans love getting attention on their birthdays, as it acts as a self-esteem boost and proves that people around them care about them. This would explain why Michael was so sensitive about his birthday and wanted everyone at Dunder Mifflin to make a fuss about it.
How Old Is He?
Michael Scott was born in 1964, which would mean that when The Office began, he would have been 41. The show ran for nine seasons, which would mean at the end of the show Michael would have just turned 50.
Michael was in fact, quite sensitive about his age because he always wanted to get married, settle down and have a family, but had anxieties about getting older, and in fact, broke up with Pam’s mom simply because he could never start a family with her.
He Is Negligent About His Personal Hygiene
There have been many instances which have proved that Michael is not very aware of his own health and personal hygiene. First, he has really bad food habits and over-indulges in carbs. Remember when he ate an entire family-sized chicken pot pie for lunch? Or when he wanted more than 25 sugary toppings on his pretzel?
He’s also quite negligent towards personal hygiene, as it is revealed in season two that he has coffee breath and body odor issues, and probably does not realize it.
He Loves Entourage And There’s A Reason For It
The one thing Michael Scott has always wanted is a loyal and unquestioning squad of friends, so it would make sense that his favorite show is Entourage, which is literally a thrilling look at the life of a famous actor who is always surrounded by super reliable and loving friends/wingmen.
Michael loves Entourage so much that he even quotes a line from the show in the episode "The Coup," where he asks Dwight to ‘hug it out.’ Interestingly, Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight, had a guest appearance on Entourage, and Jeremy Piven, who plays Ari, was considered for the role of Michael.
He’s Been Swindled More Than Once
Michael used to work at a restaurant and saved up enough money for college, but lost all his savings after he fell prey to a nasty pyramid scheme. This was also the reason he never made it to college and started working odd jobs, including the one at Men’s Warehouse, which he talks about during the "Safety Training" episode in season three.
But Michael doesn’t get any smarter after that incident, as he falls victim to two other fake get-rich-quick-schemes, one involving calling cards and another where he was emailed by a fake Nigerian Prince.
He Has An Estranged Half-Sister
It is revealed in season seven that Michael has a half-sister but they are not on talking terms, as she cut him off from the family years ago. Turns out Michael once lost her sister’s son Luke in a forest when the latter was just a kid.
Michael hires Luke to work for him at Dunder Mifflin, but turns out Luke is wildly unprofessional. Not only does he get coffee orders wrong, he also bashes the employees of the company on Twitter, following which, Michael spanks him.
He Really Likes Meryl Streep
It’s probably not a surprise but Michael’s favorite actor is Meryl Streep, and he talks about her more than once. In season four, he watches a serialized version of The Devil Wears Prada on Netflix and behaves like Miranda Priestley for days. In season three, Michael gets offered the same job as Jim and Karen and compares himself to Streep again:
“I am by far the most qualified person they're interviewing. Jim and Karen are here, which is cute. They're like kid actors, tagging along with daddy, hoping to be discovered. Except Daddy is the best actor around. Daddy is Meryl Streep.”
He Had A Lonely Childhood
The reason Michael is so intent on holding on to his Dunder Mifflin family and wants his colleagues to see him as a friend is that he did not have any friends growing up, and neither did he have a very happy family. Michael reveals pretty early on in the show that when he was a kid, his mother remarried a man named Jeff, who he despised.
Clearly he never went on to have much of a relationship with him. His half-sister did not want to have a relationship after an incident involving her son Luke. Michael never had a lot of people around him growing up, which would explain why he has always wanted a big family.
His Catchphrase Has British Roots
Michael Scott’s iconic catchphrase, which is perhaps the most inappropriate boss joke there can be, was actually picked up from the British version of The Office. Turns out Michael’s ‘That’s what she said,’ is basically just American for an innuendo also known as ‘as the actress said to the bishop.’
Ricky Gervais’ character, David Brent, was known to use this phrase in the British version of the show, and naturally, this was borrowed for the American series, much like the premise of the whole show.
He Quits His Job Over A Birthday Party Debacle
In one of the most shocking episodes of the show, Michael actually quits his job, as he feels the company doesn’t treat him respectfully enough for his 15 years of service. In the fifth season, Michael is angry that his new superior Charles Miner canceled his 15-year anniversary party.
He drives to New York to confront the CFO, David Wallace, who wouldn’t take his calls and tries to calm Michael by humoring his ideas when they meet. Even after Wallace agrees to his party, Michael quits his job, as he realizes he deserves more.