James Gandolfini Turns Down Role on THE OFFICE

According to TVLine.com, stage and screen star James Gandolfini was in talks to join NBC's 'The Office,' but turned down the role because he 'wasn't interested in joining Dunder Mifflin's ranks on a full-time basis.' As previosly reported, James Spader is actually in talks to replace Kathy Bates as the CEO of Dunder Mifflin.

Gandolfini performed in a 1992 Broadway production of On the Waterfront. He returned to the stage in 2009, appearing in Broadway's God of Carnage with Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis and Jeff Daniels.

NBC's The Office depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos