Street had an exclusive phone interview with Steve Carell - writer, actor, former 40-year-old virgin - on September 14 to hear his thoughts on his film and TV career. What we found is that he's nothing like Michael Scott, his awkward alter ego on The Office, the Emmy-winning NBC comedy, airing Thursdays at 8:30.
Forget about being humble - would you have preferred to win the Best Actor Emmy instead of The Office winning the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy?
Oh, I love how you put that. Tell us what you really think. Come on, you want to hear it. Ya know, honestly, to choose, no. To get the show, get that kind of recognition, is huge and frankly I feel like it buys us maybe another season of good will at NBC, so I think that's much more important. Much more important just for all involved as well because there are so many people who do such good jobs that deserve the credit. So, so, all temperament aside, it was a really good win for everybody.
If Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant [co-writers of the original British Office] are displeased with the Jim and Pam relationship, do you think that could ignite another War of 1812?
As far as I know, he has really loved our plotlines. I don't think it will incite a battle between cultures and nationalities. But ya never know, because Ricky and Stephen are very hotheaded Brits and they are taken to fights of fancy and I wouldn't put it past them. And ya know, here's the thing: at the very least Ricky and I will have a duel at some point. And so, I think we'll probably just have to leave it at that. I challenged him to a wrestling match where we get oiled up and just go at it. And frankly I think it's something that could play well on Pay-Per-View. But, no, honestly, they've been really supportive of the show and the plot and so I think they've just been happy, they're so gracious, they've been great, all the way along.
We know what Michael Scott thinks, but would you rather be feared or loved?
I, personally, would rather be loved. Who wouldn't rather be loved?
And how do you feel about the fact that college students love lamps and like to shout "LOUD NOISES!" thanks to Anchorman?
[laughs] That doesn't speak very highly of our college students! [laughs again] Oh, you left out "I ate a big red candle."
Speaking of quotable lines, of all your lines from your career, what's your favorite?
Of all my lines from my career, what is my favorite line? Uh.boy.maybe, "I killed a guy with a trident."
When people come up to you on the street, which of your characters are you most often identified as?
People don't generally come up to me on the street. I suppose . boy, that's hard. I guess the TV show. I guess The Office seems to be gaining some ground and people seem to be recognizing the cast members of it more and more, which is really fun because, like, kind of the wider circle of supporting characters are starting to be recognized in public. And people like Angela and Phyllis and Kevin and Creed are - and Stanley - are being stopped on the street and signing autographs . and to me that's really exciting that they're gaining this acclaim from the show.
Do you see the style of The Office - with no laugh track and no studio audience - as the future of the sitcom?
I don't really know what the future of the sitcom is . I don't really think there is any way to decipher it . because, the thing I particularly like about the show is that it doesn't try too hard, it never seems to begging for approval, which is something that always turns me off when it comes to any sort of TV or film. When I get the sense that the filmmakers or the creators of the show are - I refer to it as sweaty comedy - ya know when you're just working so hard to make somebody laugh or elicit some sort of response. And I don't think that ours does that. I think it is sort of true to what it is and if people like it, great, and if they don't, then they don't have to watch it.
What inspired the Age of Aquarius music video at the end of The 40 Year Old Virgin?
I pitched that to Judd [Apatow, co-writer and director of Virgin] one day when we were writing because I heard the song on the way in on the radio to our writing session and I just thought that that would be such a perfect extension of this guy's happiness. Andy Stitzer, he's finally achieved this thing that he never thought he would achieve, and he's fallen in love and he's made love to the love of his life and in my mind I thought, "Well, where could the movie go from here?" How could it become any more joyful? And I figured that if he started into a song and danced with the rest of the cast that would be the most, that would be the purest expression, of his joy. So, I never in a million years thought they would make it. I never thought that Universal would actually pay to film that part of the movie or that it would actually end up being in the movie. So that was sort of a coup for me to get that in.
Do you have any advice for the virgins on campus?
Boy . advice for the virgins on campus. Well, that begs the question - are there any virgins on college campuses? I tend to dispute that. Anyone who says they're a virgin is probably just using it as sort of a clever ruse.
Did you ever imagine that within four years of playing a supporting role in Bruce Almighty that you would be both the lead actor and a producer of its sequel, Evan Almighty?
No, not, no. That's - this whole year, year and a half has been surreal, the fact that I'm employed at all is always a great surprise. And to be working . really, all I wanted to do was work, all I wanted to do was be employed and pay for my kids' education and that was kind of it. And live comfortably. And this, this is all way beyond my wildest dreams. So, no, I would have never anticipated or expected any of this to have happened.
Did you read any Proust to prepare for your role in Little Miss Sunshine?
I tried! God knows I tried. But what I found when doing a movie like that is that you can, I could have in fact become a Proust scholar in order to do it but it would have had no impact on my performance at all. And you can admit, it's easy to look much smarter than you are when you're fed lines like that. So I just read my lines.
If you were in a beauty pageant, what would your talent be?
Twirling a baton. [laughs] Which I can't actually do. I just figured that would end up being my talent.
Would you trade in your Frat Pack membership to be in either the Rat Pack or the Brat Pack?
Boy . so many packs, so little time. I'm actually, in my information, not a member of the Frat Pack. I've never been invited to one of the meetings, I don't know the secret handshake . I know Will Ferrell, he's a friend of mine and we've done a few things together, but I've really only met some of the other guys in passing so I can't in good conscience say that I'm a member of that gang. Not that I wouldn't want to be, but I certainly don't put myself in that league.which pack would I want to be a part of? Boy . see . the Mack Pack, how about that, I'll just make up my own pack.
My 16-year-old brother thinks you're God. Do you have any thoughts for him?
Well, he's right. [laughs] And I hope I'm not being sacrilegious, but I am a deity and he should respect and honor me and pray to me as his god. Well, he's clearly a misguided young man.
Is there anything you would like your fans to know about Steve Carell as a person as opposed to Steve Carell as an actor?
Boy, that's a difficult one. Anything I want my fans to know? God - the fact that I even have fans is just sort of a strange phenomenon and just kind of wrapping my head around that statement is, [laughs], a task. I ... no . I mean, I am just happy that the people seem to be enjoying the stuff that I've been doing recently and I will continue to try to do my best . but I know that someday and probably in the not too distant future they will all tire of me and be very sick of me and I will be cast aside like so many others. Which is okay, but if they're enjoying what I'm doing now, that's great.
You seem to have a thing for playing newscasters. Is this coincidental or do you just have something against journalists?
That's just what I've been hired to do, and I had sort of a string of The Daily Show, and Bruce Almighty, and then Anchorman, and I almost didn't get Anchorman because of that . because I had done two news-type people previously. And so that almost precluded me from getting the part. So it almost weighed against me in the end. But no! I mean, my gosh, frankly, whatever I'm going to get paid to do, I will do. But I had no sort of inclination early on to sort of corner the market on newscaster types.
Do you prefer improvisation or scripted comedy?
Boy, that's tough. I guess scripted because if you have a really good writer and can sort out the nuances within a script, it's really satisfying. Sometimes, improvisation can get a little bit self-serving and become more about what you want to say or what your personal agenda might be and I think with a script, you're really kind of serving a larger picture, and I guess I prefer that.
