Prison Mike first appears in 'The Convict', a season three episode of the American version of The Office that aired in 2006. Played by Steve Carell as Michael Scott, the character is Michael's invented prison persona, complete with a bandana and a forced tough voice, created to convince his staff that prison is worse than working at Dunder Mifflin. The scene became one of the show's most quoted character bits, and clips of Prison Mike are still shared as a reaction to exaggerated warnings and fake tough talk.