With top comedy movies such as “Despicable Me,” “Anchorman,” “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Evan Almighty,” already under his belt, actor Steve Carell want to add two new hilarious films to the list for 2012.
“Hope Springs” found Carell in the company of brilliant veterans still at the top of their game. Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones helped Carell set up the perfect canvas for his role as Dr. Feld.
“Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” puts Carell in a new spotlight. I find Carell to have “Keanu-itis,” or otherwise known to have the same basic portrayal of characters throughout his repertoire of comedy movies. I was pleasantly surprised to see him blossom into a well-rounded Dodge in “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.” He was his normal soft spoken, edgy, yet kind-hearted character until further into the film. Carell pushed his acting abilities to the limit during the last portion of the movie, giving the audience a deeper look into his portrayal of the character, Dodge.
As a former pre-med student, Carell opted to take on roles with Second City comedy troupe, based in Chicago. In 2005, he became known as the character he is most suited for; the mid-level manager for the infamous paper supply company in The Office. Carell’s life changed at this point in time.
From his NBC sitcom role, he was sought after to play characters in “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Get Smart” and “Date Night.” The rest is history.
He was born as Steven John Carell in 1962. Edwin and Harriet Carell had four sons, with Steve being the youngest. Before Steve was born, his family tree shows an Italian background and the name change from Caroselli to Carell.
In the act of filling out the law school applications, Carell claims he saw the question, “Why do you want to be an attorney?” With his inability to answer the question truthfully and his parents support, he chose acting over being an attorney.
In 1984, Carell graduated from Dennison. He faced tough times trying to break into the acting world. He was accepted into the Second City comedy troupe in 1991, where he performed for almost 10 years. He slowly began to capture roles in television and movies. Carell even made a small appearance in the 1991 John Hughes film, “Curly Sue.” His writing abilities brought him to higher levels of recognition on “The Dana Carvey Show.” Carell accepted small acting parts on the show as well and was beginning to make a name for himself.
In 1995, Carell was teaching a course for the comedy troupe. He met a student attending the class, Nancy Walls, who was also a comedy writer and an actress. They began to date and in 1995, they were married.
Carell and his wife decided to move to New York with a co-performer through Second City, Stephen Colbert. The three joined the cast of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”
Next year, Carell is working diligently to deliver a few new films to the theaters. So far, he is listed as working on “Frank or Francis,” “Foxcatcher,” “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” “Despicable Me 2” and “Anchorman 2.”
Watch for Carell’s new releases in theaters in 2013.
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