Actor of the Week: Steve Carell
Introducing our latest Actor of the Week, the man who has been a major part of revolutionising comedy and is now the most used face on social media (in GIF form), the brilliant Steve Carell! The great thing about Carell is that he has been apart of some, classic, modern day comedies, but is still able to play new creative characters, without his past roles haunting him and coming through in his performance. This isn’t to say Carell is completely different in every role he plays, as what makes Carell so special is his brilliant comedic playfulness he brings to each role, but he manages to make each character feel unique at the same time.
Carell would have first been seen in his very small role within Bruce Almighty, seeing our AOTW starring alongside a former one, Jim Carrey. Carell played Evan Baxter, a work colleague of Carrey's character, Bruce, who competes with the lead to earn the Lead Anchor job at the local news channel. With Bruce being granted the powers of God himself, Evan becomes a victim of Bruce’s new found powers in the form of comedic ridicule. Once Carell made a name for himself, he managed to bag himself a sequel where he played the lead this time, in Evan Almighty, seeing Evan take on the task of building an Arc for god himself, putting him in an awkward situation at work and with his family, due to God not allowing him to avoid his new found responsibility.
The role which really put Steve Carell on the map was his performance as the extremely stupid, but funny, Brick Tamland in Anchorman. In an era where women are fighting for equality in the workplace and being successful in doing so, a man orientated news channel has to come to terms with a new colleague, who happens to be a female. Brick plays the weatherman for this news team, a weatherman who is extremely stupid. This really is one of those times where you couldn’t imagine anyone else playing this role. The character, Brick, really highlights the qualities Carell brings to the screen.
In 2005 Carell really had a breakthrough year, taking on a lead role in the iconic 40 Year-Old Virgin, which truly is a classic comedy of a man who takes 40 years to lose his virginity. This film was a major part of this new line of comedy that we get today. Not only did Carell lead in a standout comedy, in the same year he also took on the remake of the legendary UK series The Office within the US. The US Office really went above and beyond in regards to its success. A lot of people had their doubts due to the UK version being an absolute masterpiece, but with Carell’s brilliance as Michael Scott, it was inevitable that this show was to see equal success across the pond. Not only did The US Office hit major success, it will also live on through GIF form being one of the biggest sources for GIF’s used in social media today.
Now that Carell had proven to the world he has the ability to lead a film to success, he had truly cemented himself in hollywood, starring in comedies like Get Smart and Dinner for Schmucks. He also dabbled in RomCom’s starring in one of my favourites of the genre, Crazy, Stupid, Love.
One thing that has come to a bit of a suprise is Carell’s ability at lending his voice to the animated world. Not only has Carell been apart of brilliant animated films like Over the Hedge and Horton Hears a Who, Carell has been a main part of a film that is a true landmark within this genre, the Despicable Me franchise. Despicable Me has truly been a film that has made its mark in movie history. Carell voices the evil villain Gru, an evil villain who becomes responsible for 3 children, who bring out the softer side in him. Not only does Carell use his amazing comedic qualities to bring the fun side a of Gru alive, he also taps into his brilliant acting abilities by making a truly heartwarming character. Carell has gone on to voice Gru 3 more times. With Carell’s great acting ability and Gru’s incredible funny minions, these films were always going to be a success.
Carell has proven many times in his career that he has a brilliant ability at bringing characters to life, but also make you love them. He’s fun, has charm, but doesn't take himself too seriously, which is a great quality for an actor as famous as he. Like Brick loves lamp, we love Carell.
