Dwight Schrute - Character Information

Character Information

When the series begins, Dwight Schrute is a competent salesman, despite lacking general knowledge, at the Scranton branch of the paper distribution company, Dunder Mifflin. Dwight formally held the title of "Assistant to the Regional Manager", but constantly refers to himself as "Assistant Regional Manager", attempting to elevate himself to second-in-command to branch Manager, Michael Scott. Dwight craves authority over his co-workers, and relishes any minor task that Michael or anyone else will give him. Although Dwight acts superior to many individuals and is often resourceful in crises, he is shown to actually be quite gullible, ignorant, and naïve. For this reason, he is easily tricked and pranked by his desk-mate and fellow Salesman, Jim Halpert.

Dwight often speaks in a halting, intense manner, even in casual conversations. At the office, his most recurring formal wear is a mustard-colored, short-sleeved collar shirt, with a dark necktie and, usually, a brown suit jacket. He often uses one-upmanship to better himself over his peers, such as boasting about how he trains specific parts of his body. Dwight will sometimes engage in jokes and games in attempts to appease Michael, but often fails to do so, because of Michael's perception of himself as the jokester of the workplace. After Dwight temporarily leaves Dunder Mifflin, it is shown that he watered the office plant and arranged the toys on Michael's desk in a manner that made Michael happy.

Dwight is a former volunteer sheriff deputy. He resides on his family's beet farm, alongside his cousin, Mose (played by producer/writer Michael Schur). Dwight has affinities for paintball, Battlestar Galactica, ping pong, survivalism, Goju Ryu karate and weapons. He also has a preference to ride in the back seat of cars behind the driver, because it is the safest location in a car.

In "Whistleblower", encouraged to invest in real estate by former CEO and owner of Dunder Mifflin, Jo Bennett, Dwight decides to purchase the industrial park building. He has shown entrepreneurial traits, like converting the building lobby into a coffee shop, converting an empty room in the office building into a state-of-the-art gym, and organizing a barn maze before Halloween, where kids can pay admission to play.

In an episode commentary on the season one DVD, Wilson refers to Dwight as a "fascist nerd" who is a predictable caricature of a character that demonstrates the futility of most TV. In a featurette on the season three DVD, Wilson describes Dwight as "someone who does not hate the system, but has a deep and abiding love for it".