A bit of time passed before Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch found a suitable replacement after Michael Scott (Steve Carell) left on The Office. By that point, Dunder Mifflin had merged with Sabre and Jo Bennett (Kathy Bates) was still in charge. To fill the void left by Michael, a number of special guest stars made an appearance as potential candidates.
Michael officially left during The Office season 7. Prior to his departure to live with Holly across the country, Deangelo Vickers (Will Ferrell) was hired to take over as the regional manager. He seemed to be a viable option to replace Michael, but that notion suddenly changed. Deangelo's role as the branch manager only lasted four episodes as he went completely off the rails. He eventually ended up brain dead after a basketball hoop fell on him during a dunk attempt to impress his coworkers.
Following Deangelo's exit, Dwight Schrute served as acting manager, as did Creed Bratton. Both were not suitable in the eyes of Jo, so she put Jim, Toby, and Gabe in charge of hiring a new manager in the episode, "Search Committee." Andy, Darryl, and Nellie applied for the position, as did Dwight in a disguise. In the end, Robert California was chosen to be the permanent regional manager, leading James Spader to appear until the conclusion of season 8. Before Robert won the role, a number of familiar faces interviewed during the episode. Here's the list of guest stars who interviewed for the manager position in The Office.
Ray Romano As Merv Bronte
Merv was one of the first applicants to be interviewed for the regional manager position at Dunder Mifflin Sabre. While waiting in the lobby, Merv made small talk with Robert California who convinced him that the Scranton office was not an ideal place to work. Merv then intentionally sabotaged his own interview by eating his lunch and inquiring about relocation. He then realized that Robert fooled him to get a step up on the competition.
Ricky Gervais As David Brent
Gervais reprised his role as David Brent, the star of the original UK version of The Office. David was previously seen earlier in season 7 when he ran into Michael on an elevator. Now that Michael was gone, David decided to interview for the manager position via video conference. He was extremely cocky but rambled through the interview, which was why he didn't win the job.
Will Arnett As Fred Henry
Speaking of cocky, Arnett's Fred character was one of the overly confident candidates, but he was completely unprepared for the interview. Fred claimed to have a "three-step plan" that would double Dunder Mifflin Sabre's sales. When Jim tried to ask him about the plan, it was clear that Fred had no idea what he was talking about, nor did he remember the name of the company he was interviewing for. Arnett was considered to play the manager during The Office season 8 until his pilot, Up All Night, was picked up by NBC.
Warren Buffet As An Interviewee
Business mogul Warren Buffett made a brief cameo as an interviewee who could be best described as a penny-pincher. While interviewing with Jim, Toby, and Gabe, Buffet's character was more concerned about paybacks for gas usage and policies regarding long-distance phone calls. Understandably, he was not chosen for the regional manager position.
Jim Carrey As The "Finger Lakes Guy"
At the end of the episode on The Office, a number of applicants discussed their feelings about their confidence in acquiring the position. One of those people was Carrey who was referred to as the "Finger Lakes Guy." He thought his interview went well, but he left his family at the Finger Lakes to drive to Scranton for the interview. He wanted to return before they started to worry since so many people have disappeared from that area.