Olivia McMinn

Wilson Entertains Rainn Wilson visits the Penn State Altoona Campus as a part of their Guest Speaker series. Wilson not only shared his persepctives on life, but also told jokes and stories, engendering laughs from his crowd.

Known best for his role as Dwight Schrute in the sitcom show “The Office,” Rainn Wilson is an actor, writer, director, producer and  podcaster. He visited the Penn State Altoona campus on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2023 to discuss his new book and his perspectives on the modern world. 

Wilson’s new book, “Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution” explores the importance of spirituality in the modern age. Wilson claims that through all of the turmoil that has had such a vast impact on the generations over the past few years (COVID-19, terrorism and the mental health crisis that plagues the U.S) spirituality provides a road to peace and comfort. 

This actor is often asked: “Why the hell would the guy who played Dwight on The Office be writing a book about spirituality?”

During a presentation at the Penn State Altoona campus on Oct. 18, Wilson answered that question.

It was all of Wilson’s life experiences, good and bad, that led him down the path of spirituality. Like others, Wilson has dealt with his fair share of loneliness, depression, anxiety and addiction. During his 20s, he said he went through the darkest times of his life, struggling to find his place and meaning in the world. He failed badly. The classic story of a struggling actor in New York City: he wasn’t sure where to turn or what to do. Growing up religious, a member of the Baha’i faith, he turned back to his spiritual roots, fully embracing all types of religions and beliefs. Through this, he found a better understanding of himself and an improved mindfulness.

Wilson likes to tell his listeners there is a big difference between ‘religion’ and ‘spirituality’. While religion is an organized and uniform practice of spirituality, being ‘spiritual’ is believing in something, having faith and looking inward or above for answers to life’s questions. 

Wilson admits some of his failures he endured at the start of his acting career. Although, reflecting on his past, he acknowledges he is happy he did fail. He claims it led him in the right direction. It led him to his successful roles, it led him to his family and it led him to become the person he is today. 

Other than “The Office,” which is by far his most popular work, he also has played some smaller parts in movies or shows, as well as a plethora of independent films. He enjoys the smaller ones just as much. 

Regarding “The Office,” Wilson is used to talking about his nine-season hit show. None of the cast imagined the show having so much impact, providing so much comfort and stretching so wide. 

“We were just trying to pay off our student loans,” Wilson said. “The Office” did much more than that for him. When mentioning the show, he said that the cast and him are filled with so much gratitude about how much comfort and joy it provides people. 

Speaking at a college to an audience filled with college students who are in similar positions and struggle with the same problems as Wilson did in the past, he offers some advice.

“You are not alone,” Wilson said.

He tells his audience that many of their peers, neighbors, friends and family members deal with the same dark feelings as them. While lots of generations struggle with loneliness, no one is truly alone in the battle of life.