Rainn Wilson is an actor and best-selling author, perhaps best known for playing Dwight Schrute on the hit television show “The Office”.

What many people may not know is that Wilson is also a die-hard Seattle Seahawks fan.

I spoke with Rainn earlier, discussing topics like growing up with the Seahawks, what the team has meant to the city, and, what his nickname on defense would be.

SW: You were about 10 years old when the Seahawks played their first season, right?

RW: Yeah, exactly. I went to some of their first games in the Kingdome.

SW: Do you remember what the vibe was like in and around the city leading up to their first season?

RW: I was pretty young, but I do remember there was a lot about it in the Seattle Times. I remember this thing they had where they had different options for the Seahawks logo, and you could kind of vote on them. There were also a lot of letters to the editor about that. They built the Kingdome and we were so excited to have our first huge stadium. Then I remember everyone in Seattle being like, “Okay. When are they going to paint it?” Because it was this giant, gray concrete piece of dog [expletive] in the middle of Seattle. It just ate up the skyline and was just so ugly. I was sure that any day now they were going to paint it bright colors and make it look really cool, but they never did.

SW: What was your experience like going to some of those first games?

RW: I remember seeing the Detroit Lions there in the first or second season, and I remember Jim Zorn and Steve Largent, of course. My Uncle Doug took a thermos filled with wine and got slowly hammered through the course of the game. I don’t know why wine. I saw a bunch of games, but that’s the only one I really remember from early, early on. I got to meet Zorn and Largent a few years back. I went and sat in the VIP booth and they were there being honored at halftime. It was really great to meet those childhood heroes.

SW: Were you star-struck at all by them?

RW: I wasn’t quite star-struck because I never really knew what they looked like because they had helmets on all the time. I think that’s why players today grow their hair all long because they get known by their hair. You can’t see their face. In the NBA you can kind of see their every expression. Kobe Bryant is a lot better known than Antonio Brown, and I think that’s part of the reason. So, I wasn’t really star-struck, but it was definitely pretty wild.

SW: Walking around Seattle, there’s just this college town vibe to it. For anyone outside Seattle, they really don’t understand the passion these fans have. Can you put that into perspective?

RW: That’s a really good question. I’m not sure exactly why Seattle is so ravenous for the Hawks. Growing up in Seattle in the 70s and early 80s, we really weren’t on the map in any way. It was before Microsoft, Starbucks and Nirvana. We were just this tiddly fishing town, and so for us to get a football team was huge. I think it was around the same time we got the Mariners, and I think Seattle fans really felt like they belonged now and mattered. It was just huge for us kids growing up in Seattle to have sports teams. So, I think when you grow up there, it’s just in your blood.

SW: So there was tight-knit community already in place, and when the team came in they sort of just rallied around that?

RW: Yeah, because we didn’t really have anything else. We had the Space Needle and Boeing and that was about it. So when we had a team that galvanized the entire community and ignited the passion of the whole Pacific Northwest, it was huge. Then we belonged. Then we mattered. We had a sports team.

SW: Let’s look at this year’s team. The running game has been abysmal and they had that bad loss to Tampa Bay last week. Do you think they could beat Dallas in the playoffs if they had to go on the road?

RW: Oh, absolutely. We saw Minnesota almost beat Dallas last night. I think Dallas is great, but they’re led by two rookies. When it comes to the playoffs, that’s one thing Seattle’s defense knows. I absolutely think Seattle could win. The road has never really stopped them before.

SW: Kam Chancellor is “The Enforcer” and the defense is the Legion of Boom. If you were on the Seahawks defense, what would your nickname be?

RW: Rainn of Terror.

SW: What position would you play?

RW: On the defense? I think I’d be . . . I mean, I don’t want to take anyone’s job away. I think free safety or strong safety, but I don’t think I’d want to take Chancellor or Thomas’s job away, so I think just mascot.