Rainn Wilson on why he wants to become a death doula

Actor Rainn Wilson told Newsweek he hopes to train as a death doula, which he described as an individual “who counsels someone around their passing,” noting that “what happens after we die is something that people don’t really talk about.”

Why It Matters

Earlier this month, Wilson, who is well-known for his role as Dwight Schrute in The Office, told comedian and talk show host Seth Meyers that he may put acting aside to become a death doula.

Starring in Code 3, a new film in theaters Friday, the famed actor says he is leaning toward becoming a death doula after years spent exploring spirituality and life’s big questions.

What To Know

“Everyone in this room is going to die,” Wilson said, noting its universality and that people may start to meet their doula early on to start to think about the process. He added that the purpose of a death doula is to create “a safe space to die, a beautiful space to die, rituals around death, incorporating your faith or religious beliefs around it.”

Wilson, whose podcasts and book, Soul Boom, delve into spirituality, death and suffering, called the role of a death doula “one of my favorite topics.”

“Death, for me, and what happens after we die, is something that people don’t really talk about,” noting that while people may do that in religious or academic settings, it doesn’t come as naturally in society.

“We don’t really think about it, but our ancestors thought about it a lot,” he said. “It was, first of all, death was much more prevalent.”

In 2023, more than 3 million people died in the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Wilson said he finds that the conversation about death could be “much richer and more culturally relevant,” and believes he can contribute to that.

Asked which character from The Office he would want as his death doula, Wilson said, “Michael Scott having left Dunder Mifflin becoming a death doula would be an amazing spin-off show. I would love to see that.

“I think Kevin Malone would be a great death doula, too, because if people were taking their time passing away, he could just sit on them.”

Wilson, a practicing Baha’i, says his faith teaches that humans “are all souls, that we have souls,” that move from the physical realm to beyond. He believes in a “continuation of consciousness past the physical realm that we’re in,” which he links to the importance of compassionate end-of-life care and support.