Content Warning: The following article contains mention of suicide.
While Michael Scott’s father was never revealed in The Office season 7 when he marries Holly Flax. However, The Office continually suggests that Michael’s desire for a family that loves him stems from his tragic childhood, which indicated a lack of proper affection from his unseen father and mother.
Throughout Michael’s nearly 20 years at Dunder Mifflin, Steve Carell’s character rose from a salesman to the regional manager of the Scranton branch. While Michael’s naiveté and immaturity lead many to second guess how he was able to achieve his role as regional manager, the character will infrequently show moments of brilliance that prove he’s actually a natural salesman, with Michael trying to on some of these traits to his colleagues as Dunder Mifflin’s resident father figure. The Office also makes it clear that Michael’s desire to become a manager truly took form when his stepfather, Jeff, said he respected a manager’s decision at a baseball game. While The Office's Michael Scott never actually reveals the full backstory of his relationship with his biological father, his lack of a presence in Michael’s life had a profound impact on the character’s future at Dunder Mifflin.
Since Michael never explained his father’s name, some The Office fan theories have tried to decipher his dad’s true identity. One carefully considered theory (via Michael Scott's best redeeming traits in The Office.
Everything The Office Reveals About Michael’s Family
Considering Michael Scott is primarily focused on starting his own family, Steve Carell’s character doesn’t give too much background about his own parents and siblings. Most of Michael’s childhood is understood by the notion that he grew up without a father figure, and when he was really young his mother married his stepfather Jeff, who Michael speaks about with much resentment. There are a few instances on The Office in which Michael calls his mother, though these typically involve his mother doubting his romantic relationships or Michael complaining about his coworkers. In The Office’s season 5 episode “Customer Service,” Michael’s mom is voiced by actress June Squibb, though the character was never heard on the series again.
Later in The Office season 5, Michael introduced Pam Halpert and Ryan Howard to his grandmother, Barbara Keevis, who he unsuccessfully tried to get to invest in the short-lived Michael Scott Paper Company. It’s unclear whether Barbara was his maternal or paternal grandmother, but she seemed to have the same doubts about Michael’s competence as his own mother. Michael would also infrequently mention his aging grandmother who accidentally sends him multiple birthday checks a year, but it isn’t confirmed whether this is referring to Barbara or his other grandmother. In The Office season 7, Evan Peters cameoed as Michael’s incompetent nephew Luke Cooper, who is described as the son of Michael’s half-sister Marnie, who he is trying to repair his relationship with. Michael doesn’t reveal if Marnie is his sister from his mom’s side or dad’s side, but it can be reasonably assumed that she’s his father’s daughter when considering the two were estranged for 15 years. Steve Carell’s The Office character also mentioned having a big brother in the season 2 episode “Email Surveillance.” However, it’s ambiguous as to whether he was referring to a real-life sibling or “Big Brother” in the metaphoric sense.
The Office Theory Explained – Robert Mifflin Was Michael’s Father
A well-researched fan theory suggests that the identity of Michael’s real father was Robert Mifflin, with the evidence pointing to how the co-founder’s tragic backstory connects to Michael’s own painful childhood and future job with Dunder Mifflin. Robert Mifflin died by suicide in 1972, at which time Michael would have been around 7 years old, thus explaining why he never grew up with a father figure. The Office theory indicates that Michael’s mother was having an affair with Robert, which is why Michael’s last name is Scott rather than Mifflin. Michael once mentioned that he had to repeat the 2nd grade, which would have aligned with the timeframe of when Mifflin died. Since Michael’s grandmother would send him a significant amount of money every year, The Office fan theory suggests that this money was derived from the wealth of Robert Mifflin after his ing. Michael’s mom also got married to Jeff only a few years after this time, which may answer Steve Carell’s character was so resentful of his stepfather.
The theory also indicates that the secret familial connection to Robert Mifflin was a major source of how Michael became Dunder Mifflin Regional Manager. While Michael’s subordinates at Dunder Mifflin Scranton wouldn’t know the truth of his parentage, his bosses at corporate and the company’s HR representatives may be in on the secret due to his personal files – yet another reason for Michael to hate Toby. The Office fan theory then suggests that Michael was offered a job at Dunder Mifflin with the hopes that he would bring the same natural talent of a salesman that Robert Mifflin exhibited, which Michael proves himself to have. This is used to explain David Wallace’s initial hesitance at Michael’s capability as a salesman, though David soon comes around once he sees that Michael has inherited Mifflin’s sales and leadership prowess.
Lastly, the dark fan theory about Michael’s true father uses evidence from the character’s shaken demeanor when speaking about suicide in The Office’s season 3 episode “Safety Training.” The subject would still be deeply traumatizing to Michael, and bringing up depression from the workplace may have resurfaced his repressed memories of Mifflin’s own depression in Michael’s youth. Michael also later brings in Robert Dunder to speak to the employees of Dunder Mifflin Scranton in The Office season 4, which he may have agreed to as a favor for Mifflin’s child. The dark theory recontextualizes many of Michael’s sad storylines and position with the company as secretly related to his trauma from his father Robert Mifflin’s death.
Robert Mifflin Being Michael’s Father Would Ruin His Best Trait
Michael’s sparing details about his father make it difficult to prove the theory wrong, but Robert Mifflin being his father would also ruin Michael’s redeeming character trait in of his natural sales ability. Rather than inheriting skills from his father or earning a position in the company due to nepotism, The Office’s possible secret genius Michael Scott is a much better character when realizing that he earned his place in Dunder Mifflin all on his own. Michael may be incompetent or naive in the majority of The Office’s social situations, but he’s an incredibly talented salesman, which shouldn’t be undermined by the notion that his secret familial relationship helped him get his job. The Office’s characters can underestimate Michael in any situation but a sale – he may not be an appropriate manager or boss to his employees, but he proves himself time and again to have earned the position by virtue of his sales record and loyalty alone.