United Kingdom, Sept. 7 -- Domhnall Gleeson contacted Steve Carell before signing up to star in The Paper.

The 42-year-old actor stars in The Office US spin-off as Ned Sampson, the editor-in-chief of the Toledo Truth-Teller newspaper, and explained how he got in touch with Carell - who starred as Michael Scott in the American take on Ricky Gervais' sitcom.

Domhnall recalled: "I dropped him a line because I value his opinion as an artist and as a great person. He said, 'It'd be mad not to work with (The Office executive producer) Greg Daniels if you had the opportunity.'"

The Harry Potter star confessed that he was hesitant about starring in The Paper because he was an avid watcher of The Office.

Gleeson said: "I was a big fan, which m...