Having established himself as one of television’s finest ensemble players on The Office, Rainn Wilson makes his requisite bid for big-screen stardom in The Rocker (see review), in which he plays a faded-superstar drummer who hooks up with his nephew’s garage band. Wilson was in Toronto for a special screening of the film earlier this summer, and spoke to EYE WEEKLY about drum-culture nomenclature, being abused by Dennis Hopper and tentacle sex.

How many consecutive interviewers have asked you about learning to play the drums for your role in this film?
You would be the 18th out of 18 today.

So, how contemptuous of me would you be if I, say, asked you one more time?
On a scale of 1-10, maybe only 1.5, because it’s early on in my junket process. Learning to play the drums is one thing, the world of the heavy-metal drummer is a whole other thing unto itself. My drum coach used to be in a metal band and he talked about the energy of sitting on your throne behind the drums. That’s what they call it, by the way:  a “throne.” And it’s not a drum set, it’s a “kit.” A lot of people don’t know that. So: you’re on your throne, behind your kit, hitting the skins. Anyway, there’s an energy that has to radiate out. Heavy metal is the only place where the drummer plays to the audience as much as the singer or the guitar.

I heard that you got to hang out with Neil Peart during the shoot. That must have been humbling.
It’s ridiculous. He is the greatest rock drummer of all time and he let me sit behind his kit. The guys in Rush are big Office fans, by the way. They were warming up for their show at the Hershey Centre, where we shot the big concert scene at the end of the film.

You hosted the Independent Spirit Awards last year and shot a skit where you were kidnapped and sold into prostitution by Dennis Hopper. Where does that rank on your list of career achievements?  
Hosting Saturday Night Live is No. 1. But being abused by Dennis Hopper is a close second.

The indie film crowd isn’t necessarily known for its sense of humour, but you got a lot of people to appear in those skits, such as Todd Haynes and Michael Winterbottom.
We tried to get all the directors. Gus Van Sant was in production on his next movie, which is why he didn’t come down. A Mighty Heart was a tough one to make fun of. So we resorted to making fun of Michael Winterbottom’s last name.

How much research did you do for the Schrute-Space entry (at http://blog.nbc.com/DwightsBlog/) entitled “The Curious Rise of Tentacle Sex in Manga”?
I have to pass the baton on that one and reveal to the media that I am no longer writing the Dwight blog on The Office’s website. I wrote it for the first three seasons or so. But the last six or seven blog entries have not been me. I just got too busy.

In all seriousness, though, are you concerned about becoming so strongly identified with the role of Dwight?
You get known for things. That’s just how it works. I was doing theatre in New York for years, did a lot of Shakespeare. People said, “Oh Rainn Wilson, he’s that classical theatre guy.” I was that guy for longer than I’ve been Dwight. Now I’m known for playing creepy, uptight weirdos. Hopefully The Rocker will show them another side of me.

So that you can reach your ultimate goal of getting back onto the New York stage?
Seriously, that’s it. I couldn’t get parts in New York anymore, which is why I went out to LA in the first place. I wanted to get on a sitcom so that I could go back and play Mercutio at the Public Theatre.