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Steve Carell

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Steve Carell
File:Stevecarell office 240 002.jpg
Steve Carell from The Office
Born
Steven John Carell
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm) [1]

Steven John Carell (born August 16, 1963)[2] is a Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated American comedian, actor and writer, whose earlier role was that of Jon Stewart's correspondent on The Daily Show, from 1999 to 2004. He is currently starring in the American version of the television sitcom The Office, as Michael Scott.

Biography

Personal life

Carell was born in Acton, Massachusetts. He was educated at the The Fenn School and Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, as well as Denison University in Granville, Ohio.

He is married to Saturday Night Live alumna Nancy Walls, whom he met when she was a student in an improv class he was teaching at The Second City.[3] They have two children, Elisabeth and John.

Early career

Prior to deciding on a career as a performer, he was a mail carrier. He later explained he quit after a few months because he was "very, very bad at it."[4] He also planned on going to law school, but when he was asked on his entry form why he wanted to become a lawyer, he was unable to write a response.

He performed with Chicago troupe The Second City in 1991, where Stephen Colbert was his understudy for a time. This same year, he landed his first film role, a minor one as Tesio in Curly Sue.

In 1996, he was a cast member of the briefly aired The Dana Carvey Show. Along with fellow cast member Colbert, Carell provided the voice of Gary, half of "The Ambiguously Gay Duo". While Carvey was canceled, the Robert Smigel-produced animated short survived, moving to Saturday Night Live in 1997. He played a supporting character in the short-lived 1997 Tim Curry sitcom Over the Top.

Other early screen credits include a role in the short-lived Julia Louis-Dreyfus sitcom Watching Ellie (2002 – 2003) and Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda.

The Daily Show

File:Carellcolbert ds.jpg
Carell with Stephen Colbert on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

In 1999, he became a correspondent on The Daily Show, appearing in recurring sketches like "Even Stevphen" (opposite Stephen Colbert) and "Produce Pete with Steve Carell". He remained a regular on the show until 2004.

Carell returned to The Daily Show on March 23, 2005, for a piece on the second anniversary of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

While there, he also recorded two guest appearances as Produce Pete which aired on April 4, 2005, and May 3, 2005 (and was credited as a contributor).

He returned to the show as the guest on August 15, 2005, and declared on that day's program that he was officially no longer with the show, ending a bit of speculation as to whether he would one day return or not.

Mainstream success

Two supporting roles in films helped get the attention of audiences: In Bruce Almighty, Carell played Evan Baxter, an arrogant rival to Jim Carrey who gets the ultimate comeuppance at a news desk. In Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, he played another news personality, this time as the retarded weatherman Brick Tamland, whose non-sequiturs (including "I love lamp" and "LOUD NOISES!", along with his use of a trident and a hand grenade in a news team rumble) helped make the comedy a success at the box-office..

In spring of 2005, Carell began playing the lead role of Michael Scott on NBC's remake of the British sitcom The Office. Although the series premiered to mediocre ratings, NBC renewed it for a second season due to its success on the iTunes Store[1], and the show subsequently became a ratings success. Carell won a Golden Globe and Television Critics Association award in 2006 for his Office role. He also received an Emmy nomination in 2006 for his work in the series. He played the lead role in the 2005 film The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which he developed and co-wrote. Although the film was a surprise success, he revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he has no plans to leave The Office.

Carell currently earns approximately $175,000 per episode of the third season of The Office, twice his salary for the previous two seasons. Carell is also allowed flex time during filming to be able to work on theatrical films. While he was shooting Evan Almighty, Carell shot the film during weekdays and appeared in The Office on weekends for its third season. [2]

Carell appeared as "Uncle Arthur" alongside Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell in the 2005 remake of Bewitched. He also voiced one of the starring roles in the 2006 computer-animated film Over the Hedge as Hammy the Squirrel. He starred in Little Miss Sunshine in 2006, as Uncle Frank.

His work in films such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Bewitched established Carell as a member of Hollywood's Frat Pack group. This set of actors, headlined by Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson, has become one of the most profitable forces in modern comedy. Carell acknowledged his membership in this group during the opening monologue of his October 1, 2005 hosting stint of Saturday Night Live.

Awards

Golden Globes

Won:

Nominated:

  • 2007: Best Performance by an actor in a TV series Musical or Comedy (for The Office)

Emmy Awards

Nominated:

  • 2006: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (The Office)

Writers Guild of America

Nominated:

Won:

Television Critics Association

Won:

  • 2006: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Comedy (for his role as Michael Scott in The Office)

Screen Actors Guild of America

Won:

  • 2007: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (part of ensemble cast for Little Miss Sunshine)
  • 2007: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (part of ensemble cast for The Office)

Nominated:

  • 2007: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series (The Office)

MTV Movie Awards

Won:

  • 2006: Best Comedic Performance for the film The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Nominated:


Preceded by Golden Globe - Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
2006
for The Office
Succeeded by

Partial filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2003 Bruce Almighty Evan Baxter Supporting role
2004 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Brick Tamland Supporting role
Sleepover Officer Sherman
2005 Melinda and Melinda Walt
Bewitched Uncle Arthur Cameo
The 40-Year-Old Virgin Andy Stitzer Lead role/Co-writer
2006 Over the Hedge Hammy (voice)
Little Miss Sunshine Frank Ginsburg Ensemble cast
2007 Evan Almighty Evan Baxter Lead role
Knocked Up Himself Cameo
Dan in Real Life Dan Burns Lead role
2008 Horton Hears a Who! Mayor of Who-Ville (voice) [3]
Get Smart Maxwell Smart Lead role

Salary

Trivia

  • Both characters that Carell played on Bruce Almighty and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy were news anchors. Before acting in these roles he was a news reporter on The Daily Show.
  • He wrote the season finale of the second season of The Office.
  • According to the audio commentary on the DVD of the Fox sitcom Titus, Carell was up for the role of Tommy Shafter, but producers ultimately chose actor David Shatraw.
  • Carell was once referred to as "Steven James Anthony Carell" by Will Ferrell on an episode of The Daily Show.
  • Carell's wife, Nancy Walls, appeared with him on The Office as his realtor/short-lived girlfriend, Carol Stills.

Future plans

Carell will appear as the lead in Evan Almighty, a sequel to Bruce Almighty. He will reprise his role as Evan Baxter, now a member of Congress, whom God tasks with building a new ark. (In theatres June 22, 2007)

In October 2006, Carell began shooting the upcoming film Dan in Real Life, co-starring Dane Cook and Juliette Binoche. Filming wrapped December 22, 2006, and will hit theatres September 21, 2007.

He will play Maxwell Smart in a movie remake of Get Smart, which began filming February 3rd, 2006 (filming will continue in Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Moscow, Russia).[4]

References

  1. ^ http://www.celebheights.com/s/Steve-Carell-1345.html
  2. ^ a b Holloway, Diane (2005-08-16). "Steve Carell's 42, a 'Virgin' and the worst boss ever". Austin-American Statesman. Retrieved 2006-12-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Interview: Steve Carell (January 11, 2006). The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC.
  4. ^ Interview: Steve Carell (March 20, 2006). InFANity: The Office, TV Guide Channel.
  5. ^ Steve Carell Gets Richer Deal for 'The Office' Andreeva, Nellie; June 08, 2006; Backstage.com: The Actor's Resource

See also


Steve Carell
Wife: Nancy Walls
Television: The Dana Carvey Show | The Daily Show | The Office
Starring Movie Roles: The 40-Year-Old Virgin | Little Miss Sunshine | Dan in Real Life | Evan Almighty
Minor Movie Roles: Bruce Almighty | Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy | Bewitched |
Voice Talent: The Ambiguously Gay Duo | Over the Hedge | Horton Hears a Who!
Other: Frat Pack | Michael Scott