He got a job delivering mail in Littleton for around six months while he saved up for a move to Chicago, where, after waiting tables for three years, he joined the touring company of the fabled Second City comedy troupe. There he met his future wife, as well as a colleague named Stephen Colbert, and embarked on a journey that would take him through countless failed TV series, a foothold on The Daily Show in 1999, and, in 2005, the double-whammy breakthrough with The Office on TV and The 40-Year-Old Virgin in theaters.
Think about that: How many parents urge their children to become actors? “It was a great lesson to learn and something I hope I can pass on to my kids,” Carell says. “I’ll never forget, they said: ‘It’s your life, it’s not ours. It’s about doing something that you enjoy and that fulfills you.’ That, I thought, was the best advice ever.”
And if they had told him, Steve, honey, the acting thing is just too risky?
“I’d be the most unhappy attorney you’ve ever met.”
***
Here's the thing you have to realize about Carell: He’s not funny in person. Rather, he doesn’t try to be funny. Unlike a lot of comedians, famous or otherwise, he doesn’t seem to care about being “on.” In fact, right now he’s putting a lot of energy into being off.
Carell realizes this, and he’s a little self-conscious about it. “Is this the driest interview you’ve ever gotten?” he asks. (Not by a long shot.) What he lacks in manic invention, though, he more than makes up for in droll observation. Carell is delightful to spend time with because he finds humor everywhere and in everything, and it constantly cracks him up. When he’s working, he can be funny enough to make your teeth hurt, but when he’s not on the job, things make him laugh rather than the other way around.
This confuses some people, especially those who believe that A) entertainers should be entertaining upon request or that B) Steve Carell actually is Michael Scott. “It must be awesome being funny all the time,” gushes one fan outside the general store, perfectly misunderstanding the pact a comedian makes with audiences: You pay to see me, I make you laugh, and the rest is my business. Throughout this sunny morning, Marshfield residents trickle through the store, buying coffee and the paper. Some do cartoon double takes when they see the star. Others scrupulously keep their cool. A few ask Carell to pose for a photo or for his autograph. He’s unfailingly gracious with each and every request. “I don’t think I’m at a level of celebrity where people really care that much,” he says during a quiet moment. “In LA, we live around the corner from Miley Cyrus, and I can’t imagine navigating that sort of life. It’s constant, people waiting outside her driveway to follow her places. If you follow me, I’m going to take you to the dry cleaners and maybe the supermarket and then back home.”
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