The Office‘s Michael Scott wasn’t just the world’s best boss (as his mug so proudly proclaims). He appears to be the world’s best inspiration for The Paper star Sabrina Impacciatore.

As the actress told Entertainment Weekly for their cover story dedicated to the upcoming Office spin-off, she had not watched the iconic NBC comedy until recently, when she “became addicted.”

“Me becoming addicted was almost an issue, because I couldn’t spend the day without watching a couple of episodes,” she teased.

Steve Carell‘s performance as the iconic Dunder Mifflin boss led Impacciatore to fly out from Rome to New York to see him in Broadway’s Uncle Vanya. After seeing the show, she told EW that she “went to the green room” and “waited for him.”

“He came out. I was shaking. I said, ‘I’m Sabrina, can you bless me?'” she shared. “I needed his blessing! He was the sweetest. He was so encouraging. He said, ‘These people are brilliant. You are going to have the best experience of your life. You’re going to be great.’ He was giving me confidence. I will never forget that.”

Per EW, Carell and his Office co-star John Krasinski also stopped by the set to wish The Paper cast good luck on their first day shooting.

Impacciatore and Domhnall Gleeson were announced as the stars of The Office follow-up in April 2024, which was eventually revealed to be about a Midwestern newspaper staff and was later confirmed to be called The Paper. The White Lotus alum plays Esmeralda Grand, the managing editor of the Toledo Truth Teller.

The series also features the talents of Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg and Ramona Young, who shadowed staff of the Palisades Post to prepare for their roles, in addition to The Office alum Oscar Nuñez.

Excited to watch The Paper? Peacock revealed last week that all 10 episodes would stream at once on Wednesday, Sept. 4.