The Office’s Rainn Wilson changes his name for climate change

The Office actor Rainn Wilson has changed his name on social media in order to draw attention to the dangers of climate change.

Actor Rainn Wilson has changed his name on social media – or at least he tried to.

The American star of The Office announced his new name would be Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson, chosen to draw attention to the climate peril.

His decision was timed to the UN climate conference COP27, which is taking place in Egypt this weekend.

The actor and activist said, “This is not a joke, I’m as serious as the melting Arctic, which amplifies global risks including extreme weather events around the globe. I’m hoping this name change brings attention to this growing… er, melting issue.

“We need world leaders at COP27 to take notice and take action. The Arctic is melting at millions of litres per second, yet this problem can’t seem to make a name for itself, so it’s up to us to make a name for it.”

However, Wilson’s best laid plans were partly foiled due to Twitter’s current restrictions on changing handles.

Since new owner Elon Musk’s divisive changes to the platform and its verification system, there has been a clampdown on changing username handles. Comedian Kathy Griffin was suspended from Twitter when she changed her handle to his name.

Wilson, after he was blocked from his name change on Twitter, posted, “PS. They won’t let me change my name because, Elon!”.

Assistant to the regional manager. Picture: Supplied

Despite that, he still urged others to do as he did.

He wrote, “Go to arcticriskname.org and create a name that will bring attention to this problem. Then – and this is the important part – change your social media profile or display name to match your ArcticRisk name.

“And if enough of us do this, then maybe COP27 will be where our world leaders sit up and notice Arctic risks and introduce a solution.”

Wilson has been actively campaigning for the environment. In between his acting gigs, he served on the advisory board of Arctic Basecamp, an organisation that highlights the rate of change in the Arctic.

When he visited Greenland in 2019, he made a documentary of his experiences called An Idiot’s Guide to Climate Change.

Wilson is best known for is iconic performance on The Office US as Dwight Schrute, the beet farmer cum assistant to the regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton.

A prolific actor, he has also had roles in Utopia, Six Feet Under, Juno, Mom, Star Trek Discovery, The Meg and The Boy.