Steven John "Steve" Carell (; born August 16, 1962)
is an American
actor,
comedian,
producer, and writer. Carell became famous as a correspondent for
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 1999 to 2004, and as
Michael Scott on
The Office since 2005. He has also acted in several Hollywood films including
Anchorman,
The 40-Year-Old Virgin,
Little Miss Sunshine,
Evan Almighty,
Dan in Real Life, and
Get Smart and provided voice talents in the animated films
Over the Hedge,
Horton Hears a Who!, and
Despicable Me.
Carell was nominated as "America's funniest man" in
Life magazine. He received the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in the Television Comedy Series for his lead role of Michael Scott for the American television series
The Office during 2006.
Early life
Carell, the youngest of four sons, was born at
Emerson Hospital in
Concord, Massachusetts, and was raised in nearby
Acton by his parents, Harriet T. (née Koch), a psychiatric nurse, and Edwin A. Carell, an electrical engineer.
[freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/celeb/stevecarell.htm] His maternal uncle was Stanley Koch, a glassblower who worked with
Allen B. DuMont to create cathode ray tubes.
[Steve Carell Biography] Carell's paternal grandfather was Italian;
his father was born with the surname "Caroselli", later shortening it to "Carell".
Carell was educated at
The Fenn School and
Middlesex School, and attended
Denison University in
Granville,
Ohio. He originally aspired to become a
radio broadcaster,
deejaying at
WDUB in Granville.
Early career
Before opting for a career as a performer, Carell claims that he worked as a
mail carrier in
Littleton, Massachusetts. He later recounted that he quit after a few months because his boss Jan Eddy told him he was not very good as a mail carrier; he needed to be more efficient.
[Interview: Steve Carell (March 20, 2006). InFANity: The Office, TV Guide Channel.] He planned on attending law school, but was unable to write an explanation on his application form as to why he wanted to be a
lawyer. Early in his performing career, Carell acted on the stage in a touring children's theater company and later in the comedy musical,
Knat Scatt Private Eye. He also acted in a television commercial for
Brown's Chicken during 1989. After that, Carell performed with Chicago troupe
The Second City during 1991, where
Stephen Colbert was his
understudy for a time. That same year, he obtained his first film work in a minor role as Tesio in
Curly Sue.
During 1996, he was a cast member of the briefly broadcasted
The Dana Carvey Show. Along with fellow cast member
Stephen Colbert, Carell provided the voice of Gary, half of "
The Ambiguously Gay Duo", the
Robert Smigel-produced animated short which was transferred to
Saturday Night Live during 1997. He played a supporting character for several series including
Come to Papa and the short-lived 1997
Tim Curry situation comedy
Over the Top. He has made numerous guest appearances, including on an episode of
Just Shoot Me titled "Funny Girl."
Other early screen credits include a role in
Julia Louis-Dreyfus's short-lived situation comedy
Watching Ellie (2002–2003) and
Woody Allen's
Melinda and Melinda. Carell has also made fun of himself for auditioning for
Saturday Night Live but losing the job to
Will Ferrell.
Carell was a correspondent for
The Daily Show from 1999 until 2005, with a number of regular segments including "
Even Stephven" with
Stephen Colbert and "
Produce Pete." Carell performed as a guest on
The Daily Show on August 15, 2005 to promote
The 40-Year-Old Virgin, June 18, 2007 to promote
Evan Almighty and again, a year later on June 18, 2008, to promote his newest movie,
Get Smart.
The Office
During 2005, Carell signed a deal with
NBC to star in an American version of the
BBC British TV show
The Office, a so-called "
mockumentary" about life at a mid-sized paper supply company. He plays
Michael Scott, the idiosyncratic regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Inc, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The show, now playing its sixth season, has become greatly popular, with Carell receiving praise for his comedic performance, as well as a Golden Globe award and multiple nominations. He has also been nominated for four Emmy Awards and has won two Writers' Guild of America Awards.
Mainstream success
Two important roles helped Carell get the attention of audiences:
Bruce Almighty, in which Carell plays Evan Baxter (an arrogant rival to
Jim Carrey's character), and
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, in which Carell plays another news personality, as slow-witted weatherman Brick Tamland. Years later he would reprise the role of Evan Baxter in
Evan Almighty, a film in which his character from
Bruce Almighty has an experience similar to the biblical story of
Noah's Ark. During spring of 2005, Carell began playing the lead role of
Michael Scott on
NBC's adaptation of a British program
The Office. Although the first season of the adaptation was notable for its mediocre ratings,
NBC renewed it for another season due to the anticipated success of Carell's movie
The 40-Year-Old Virgin,
["'Office' promotions pay off in a big way." Chicago Tribune. February 23, 2006] and the series subsequently became a ratings success. Carell won a
Golden Globe and
Television Critics Association award during 2006 for his
Office role. He also received
Emmy nominations during 2006 and 2007 for his work in the series.
Carell earned approximately $175,000 per episode of the third season of
The Office, twice his salary for the previous two seasons. Carell was allowed "flex time" during filming to work on theatrical films. Carell worked on
Evan Almighty during a production hiatus during the second season of the
The Office.
["Carell's 'Office' Work Pays Off", @TV.com, dated June 8, 2006]
He played the lead role for the 2005 film
The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which he developed and co-wrote. Although the film was a surprise success, Carell revealed in an interview with
Entertainment Weekly that he does not have any plans to stop performing for
The Office.
Carell acted as "Uncle Arthur" with
Nicole Kidman and
Will Ferrell for the 2005 remake of
Bewitched.
He also voiced a starring role for the 2006 computer-animated film
Over the Hedge as Hammy the Squirrel. He also voiced for the 2008 animated film
Horton Hears a Who! as the mayor of Whoville, Ned McDodd.
He starred in
Little Miss Sunshine during 2006, as Uncle Frank. His work in the films
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and
Bewitched established Carell as a member of Hollywood's so-called "
Frat Pack" group. (This set of actors includes
Ben Stiller,
Owen Wilson,
Jack Black,
Will Ferrell,
Vince Vaughn and
Luke Wilson). Carell acknowledged his membership with the group in his monologue when hosting the first episode of
Saturday Night Lives 31st season on October 1, 2005. Carell also mentioned that he auditioned to be a castmember on Saturday Night Live for the 1995-1996 season (season 21), but lost to Will Ferrell.
Carell acted as the title character of
Evan Almighty, a sequel to
Bruce Almighty, reprising his role as Evan Baxter, now a U.S. Congressman. Although, ostensibly, God tasks Baxter with building an ark, Baxter also learns that life can generate positive returns with people offering Acts of Random Kindness. During October 2006, Carell began acting for the film
Dan in Real Life, co-starring
Dane Cook and
Juliette Binoche. Filming ended December 22, 2006, and the film was released on October 26, 2007.
Carell played
Maxwell Smart for a movie remake of
Get Smart, which began filming February 3, 2007 and was filmed in Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Moscow, Russia. The movie was very successful, grossing over $200 million worldwide.
[GET SMART] During 2007, Carell was invited to join the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
[abc7.com: Film Academy Invites 115 New Members 6/19/07][Academy Invites 115 to Become Members]
Production ended during the middle of the fourth season of
The Office because of Carell's and others' refusal to cross the picket line of the
2007 Writers Guild of America strike.
Carell filmed a movie during late 2008 opposite
Tina Fey, entitled
Date Night. It is set to be released on April 9, 2010 in the US.
He has several other projects in the works, including a remake of the 1967
Peter Sellers film
The Bobo. He is currently doing voiceover work in commercials for
Wrigley's Extra gum.
Carell has launched a television division of his Carousel Prods., which has contracted a three-year overall deal with Universal Media Studios, the studio behind his NBC comedy series. Thom Hinkle and Campbell Smith of North South Prods., former producers on Carell's alma mater, Comedy Central's
The Daily Show, have been hired to manage Carousel's TV operations.
[[1]]
Personal life
Carell is
Catholic.
[www.close-upfilm.com/features/Interviews/steve_carrell_evan_almighty.html] He is married to
Saturday Night Live actress
Nancy Carell, whom he met when she was a student in an improvisation class he was teaching at
The Second City.
[Interview: Steve Carell (January 11, 2006). The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC.] They have two children, Elisabeth Anne "Annie" (born May 25, 2001) and John "Johnny" (born June 2004). She acted with him on
The Office as his realtor and short-lived girlfriend
Carol Stills, and also cameod as a sex therapist in
The 40 Year Old Virgin.
The Carells have a home in
Marshfield, Massachusetts. He recently helped to preserve some of the town's history by purchasing the 155-year-old Marshfield Hills General Store,
[Serpe, Gina. Steve Carell Swaps Office for General Store E! Online, accessed January 15, 2009.] an antique country store well-known for its candy counter.
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year
| Film
| Role
| Notes
|
| 1996
| The Dana Carvey Show
| Various characters
| Sketch comedy
|
| 1997
| Over the Top
| Yorgo Galfanikos
| 12 episodes; only 3 aired.
|
| 1998
| Just Shoot Me
| Insurance Agent
|
|
| 1999-2004
| The Daily Show
| Correspondent
|
|
| 2005-present
| The Office
| Michael Scott
| Writer, episodes "Casino Night" and "Survivor Man"; Director, episode "Broke"
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy (2006)
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2007, 2008)
Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor: Comedy (2007, 2008)
TV Land Future Classic Award
Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy (2006)
Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy Series shared with ensemble writers (2007)
Writers Guild of America Award for Episodic Comedy for episode "Casino Night"
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Comedy Series (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
Nominated — Prism Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Series (2007)
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy (2006, 2007)
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series (2007, 2008, 2009)
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2009)
Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor: Comedy (2006)
Nominated — Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy (2009)
Nominated — Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy Series shared with ensemble writers (2008, 2009)
|
Awards
Carell won the Spike TV 2008 "Guys Choice", Funniest M.F. Award.
[2008: Funniest M. F.] and a 2010 Peoples Choice Award for Best Comedic Actor.
Salary
- The Office (Season 3) - $175,000 an episode (renegotiated in 2006).
[Steve Carell Gets Richer Deal for 'The Office' Andreeva, Nellie; June 8, 2006; Backstage.com: The Actor's Resource] In an Entertainment Weekly interview, he commented on his salary, saying "You don't want people to think you're a pampered jerk. Salaries can be ridiculous. On the other hand, a lot of people are making a lot of money off of these shows."
- The Office (Seasons 1, 2) - $76,000 an episode
- Evan Almighty - $5,000,000
- The 40-Year-Old Virgin - $500,000
