'Office' star craves diversity in roles

NEW YORK, March 20 (UPI) -- Rainn Wilson says he tries to avoid being typecast by choosing film roles that differ from the iconic weirdo he plays on the U.S. sitcom, "The Office."

"I'm just interested in pushing the envelope and playing lots of different kinds of roles," "The Office"'s Dwight Schrute told UPI in New York. "It's what I do as an actor. I have a big range and I want to show that range. I do get offered a lot of broad comedy stuff; a lot of it, I turn down."

Audiences will see another side of Wilson Friday when he plays a concerned elementary school science teacher in the big-screen children's fantasy, "The Last Mimzy."

His next job is portraying an uptight college professor in the independent film, "Laws of Motion," opposite Hilary Swank and his fellow "Six Feet Under" alum, Ben Foster.

Wilson said he is also working on the script for a comedy called, "Bonzai Shadowhands."

"It's about a down-and-out ninja living in the San Fernando Valley, which I would play. Jason Reitman is going to produce and direct. I have to write a good script first and that's hard. I have no time."