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By Christina Radish
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Steve Carell at the NBC Universal Golden Globes after-party held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on January 16, 2006. | While Universal Pictures’ 2003 comedy Bruce Almighty was an explosive hit for Jim Carrey, earning almost $500 million dollars in revenue at the global box office, it also introduced the world to the polished, preening newscaster Evan Baxter, played by Steve Carell, who had been relatively unknown to movie-going audiences. Four years later, Carell returns to the role, this time taking the lead, as the next one anointed by God (also known as Morgan Freeman) to accomplish a complicated and hilarious mission, in Tom Shadyac’s Evan Almighty.
Newly elected to Congress, Evan has left Buffalo behind, moving his wife, Joan (Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham), and three sons -- Dylan (Johnny Simmons), Jordan (Graham Phillips) and Ryan (Jimmy Bennett) -- to the suburban town of Huntsville, Virginia, where they will begin the next chapter of their lives. As he attempts to settle into his new role as Congressman, Evan’s life is turned upside down when God commands him to build an ark to prepare his friends and family for a mighty flood.
Steve Carell, star of NBC’s smash hit television series The Office, talks to MediaBlvd Magazine about working with Morgan Freeman, Wanda Sykes (who plays his assistant, Rita) and countless exotic animals.
MediaBlvd Magazine> Why did you commit to this film prior to even reading a script?
Steve Carell> Mostly because of Tom Shadyac. The first movie I ever did was Bruce Almighty, and Tom took very good care of me. When I went to the premiere of that, I had no idea I’d even be in the final cut. I had so much fun doing it, and it was sort of a dream. A couple of years before I got the part, I remember watching Liar, Liar and, in the outtakes, Jim Carrey was just making everybody laugh and they looked like they were having so much fun. Then, two years later, I found out he was exactly like that. And, the chance to work with Tom again, on a one-on-one basis, was like a dream come true. How the last few years came about was very surreal for me. He actually came and pitched the film to me, and I thought that he was going to pitch the idea of a sequel, starring Jim, and then maybe featuring me as another thorn in his side. But then, when he said, “We’d like you to play the title role,” I was like, “You had me at ‘Hello.’” I was totally there.
MediaBlvd> What was it working with Morgan Freeman like?
Steve> I never met him on the first film. I saw him from a distance at the premiere, but I was far to nervous and shy to approach him. I was almost too shy to approach him on this film as well. He’s just a presence. People have a great amount of respect and reverence for him. He’s such a fantastic actor, and all you want to do is be around him. He’s the best kind of actor because he makes everyone else he’s with better than they are. He could not have be sweeter. He has an enormously good sense of humor about himself. In the past couple of years, I’ve worked with Alan Arkin, Juliette Binoche, Catherine Keener and Morgan Freeman. These are people, among others that I’ve worked with, who I hold in such high regard. Morgan Freeman is one of those iconic people that I think anyone would love to get to work with, at any point.
MediaBlvd> How was it to work opposite Wanda Sykes and ad-lib with her?
Steve> I was so close to ruining so many of her takes because she just makes me laugh. I literally had to leave the room because I was going to ruin what she was doing, since it was so funny. She’s beyond funny. She has a very sarcastic, biting sense of humor, but in person, she’s very warm, very sweet and very kind. She is a gentle soul that you don’t necessarily see. She was great fun.
MediaBlvd> In the film, Evan Baxter has a difficult time with his kids. How are you with your own two kids?
Steve> My kids are angels and never do anything wrong. They are never aggravating and are perfect in every way. No, I have a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old. The kids in the movie are bit older than mine. Everybody goes through problems, difficulties and brattiness with their kids, and they have to figure out where to draw the line. We bonded with the kids who played our kids in the movie because we spent a lot of time driving around in that Hummer with them in the back seat, and there were times when they just would not stop. They were telling dirty jokes to each other and they were laughing while we were trying to do a take, so Lauren and I sort of became the parental figures. It was like good cop/bad cop, and I was generally bad cop with the kids. We got along really well with them. The kids were almost as good as the animals.
MediaBlvd> What was your most difficult scene to shoot? Did it involve the animals?
Steve> It might have been when I had those birds on me. They were on me for a few days straight, and they were real. That wasn’t a computer-generated flock of birds on me. They would literally not get off me. I could walk around with them, and I don’t know how they trained them to do it, but they would go nowhere. And, frankly, to be blunt, they were well fed before shooting began, so that posed its own set of difficulties as well.
MediaBlvd> What were the most lovable animals, and what were the least-liked ones?
Steve> The giraffes and elephants had very soulful faces, and they were kind, sweet and gentle. The baboons were reprehensible and horrifying. There is one scene where the baboons bring me lemonade and, in one take, the baboons spilled the lemonade, so I went off book and improvised something like, “Hey man? What are you doing?,” and the baboon thought I was getting aggressive with it, and it bared its teeth and took a very aggressive stance with me. It scared the hell out of me. After that take, the trainer came over and said, “Don’t do that. Don’t talk to the baboon. As a matter of fact, don’t look the baboon in the eye.” I was like, “Why didn’t you tell me before we were shooting, not to look the baboon in the eye?” They were a little ornery. And, the camel’s breath was awful. In an enclosed space, a camel’s breath can change the atmosphere of the room. It’s so disgusting. It’s like they have eight stomachs, each more rancid then the next, and it just comes out of their mouth. So, I wouldn’t take the baboons or the camels home as pets.
MediaBlvd> With all of the religious undertones, do you see this as a religious film?
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Steve Carell with his wife at the NBC Universal Golden Globes after-party held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on January 16, 2006. | Steve> I don’t see it as a biblical comedy. I see it as a fable. I see it as a comedy that is based upon a story of the Old Testament, but I don’t see it as a religious comedy, in any way, shape or form. It’s a tale about a guy who has to make a huge leap of faith. The movie is really for anybody of any faith, or non-faith. The message behind it is that people should just be a little kinder, and take care of each other and the world we live in. I think that’s a universal theme, as opposed to a religious ideology.
MediaBlvd> Do you see this as a kid’s movie?
Steve> I wouldn’t say it’s a kid’s movie. Whenever I hear someone describe something as a “kid’s movie” or a “family movie,” it immediately has a negative connotation, in my mind because I think, “Well, as an adult, I wouldn’t go see it by myself because it’s purely for children and it holds nothing for me because it’s too simplistic and easy.” I don’t see this movie as that. I see it as having a fairly broad appeal because I think it’s funny. I think it would be very funny for kids, but I also for adults.
MediaBlvd> What do you think the message of this film is?
Steve> I was hope the movie has a strong, but subtle message, about our environment -- about taking care of it and each other, and doing acts of kindness for one another. I also hope it makes people happy. But, my goal beyond that was to make it funny without making it preachy, overly sentimental or overly precious. I don’t think this movie crams any message down anybody’s throat. I think it’s done with a fairly light touch.
MediaBlvd> How do you keep a balance between your family and your career?
Steve> I am the type of person who is always waiting for the other shoe to drop, so I’m not taking any of what is happening now for granted. I know there is a window of time when I’ll be able to do these things, and I’m just trying to take advantage of that now. At the same time, I’m being very cautious, not to let it interfere with my family life. If it starts to bleed over and take time away from my family, then it’s not going to happen, but so far I’ve been able to balance those things.
MediaBlvd> How do you feel about people comparing you to Jim Carrey?
Steve> I love it. To even be mentioned in the same sentence with him is a huge complement to me. I’ve enjoyed all of his movies. To have been in Bruce Almighty, and to have been in scenes with him, was a real honor to me. Even if I am unfavorably compared to Jim Carrey, I take that as a compliment.
MediaBlvd> Can you talk about your upcoming film Dan in Real Life (opening on September 21st), in which you play a parenting advice columnist?
Steve> It involves a guy who is fairly recently widowed, three or four years earlier. He’s been raising his three daughters on his own, and at least two of them are reaching a point in their young adult lives, where he doesn’t know what to do with them. One of them is still a little girl, and he can still manage that. One of the themes of the movie is that he doesn’t take his own advice and he let’s things get away from him, in terms of his own kids. With my own kids, it’s just about the day-to-day. You just try to deal with every situation, as they come. And, I think that’s essentially what that character does as well.
MediaBlvd> Do you have any desire to move into more romantic leading man roles?
Steve> Frankly, I am willing to take any job offered to me, at this point. I’m pretty amenable. I don’t really have a path set, like “I need to do this kind of movie and then that. And then, I need to switch it up and play a psychopathic killer.” I don’t look at it that way. I thought the script of Dan in Real Life was great, and Peter Hedges is a very thoughtful filmmaker. I thought his film Pieces of April was fantastic, and he wrote About a Boy and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. He’s really an accomplished person, so I thought, “That’s somebody I’d love to work with.” It wasn’t like I said, “Oh, I want to do a romantic comedy with Juliette Binoche.” It was more like, “Wow, I think that could be good and interesting and I think the script will be really good.” Get Smart (opening June 20, 2008) was just something I loved growing up with as a kid, and now I get the chance to bring that to a movie screen. I think that is going to be fantastic.
MediaBlvd> Now that you have this big film career, how much longer do you think you’ll do The Office?
Steve> I love it. In terms of the writing, nothing beats it. I think it’s such a smart group of people, who are really devoted to the show, and the actors are fantastic, every one of them. We’re very lucky. That sort of group of people doesn’t come together very often, in television or in movies. It’s sort of a brain trust, in my opinion, especially the writing team. It’s really remarkable. So, I’m extremely happy and still very proud to be a part of it. |
