Who said it: Michael Scott or David Brent? The Office quiz

Screen OD staff

The bustling world of the workplace has been a goldmine for sitcoms throughout the history of television, but few have managed to capture its absurdities and idiosyncrasies as successfully as ‘The Office’. In both its British and American iterations, the show garnered critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase, offering a satirical, often cringe-worthy exploration of office life and corporate culture. At the heart of each series stands an unforgettable character: David Brent, the obnoxious, bumbling general manager in the UK version over at Wernham Hogg, and Michael Scott, the equally cringe-inducing but somewhat more endearing regional manager of the US version who runs Dunder Mifflin in Scranton.

Brought to life by Ricky Gervais and Steve Carell respectively, David Brent and Michael Scott have etched their names into sitcom history. Both characters are notorious for their ill-conceived attempts at humour, their staggering lack of self-awareness, and their penchant for foot-in-mouth moments. Despite occupying the same managerial role in parallel versions of the show, these characters are distinct in their own right, with their unique brand of absurdity and pathos.

But here’s a question for the dedicated fans of ‘The Office’ on both sides of the pond – can you tell these two apart solely based on their lines from the show? Can you determine whether a quote was uttered by the well-meaning but clueless Michael Scott in Scranton, Pennsylvania, or by the equally clueless but more tactless David Brent in Slough, England? It’s a challenge that requires not just a good memory, but also a keen understanding of these two unforgettable characters.

So, let’s put your ‘Office’ knowledge to the test with this ‘Who Said It, Michael Scott or David Brent?’ quiz.

Who said it: Michael Scott or David Brent?

Questions

Each of these lines was spoken in The Office by either David Brent or Michael Scott… can you identify which?

  1. “Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”
  2. “A good idea is a good idea forever.”
  3. “I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.”
  4. “Remember when people used to say ‘boss’ when they were describing something really cool. Like, ‘those shoulder pads are really boss man.'”
  5. “You know what they say. ‘Fool me once, strike one, but fool me twice…strike three.'”
  6. “Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue.”
  7. “Sometimes the complaints will be false.”
  8. “I don’t care what they say about me. I just want to eat.”
  9. “Solomon’s here!”
  10. “People see me, and they see the suit, and they go: ‘you’re not fooling anyone’, they know I’m rock and roll through and through.”

Answers

  1. Michael Scott
  2. David Brent
  3. Michael Scott
  4. David Brent
  5. Michael Scott
  6. David Brent
  7. David Brent
  8. Michael Scott
  9. David Brent
  10. David Brent

Love quizzes? You're in luck!

Try all of our other fantastic Screen OD quizzes now: