Born on August 16, 1962 in Acton, Massachusetts, Steven John Carell, who is of Italian ancestry, was educated at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Before becoming the popular celebrity he is today, he began as a mail carrier in Littleton, Massachusetts, but quit after realizing how bad he was at it. He then opted to attend law school, but couldn't fill out the portion of the application form which asked why he wanted to be a lawyer. He then ventured into acting, joining the Chicago troupe, The Second City in 1991, and subsequently landing his first film project, a minor role in Curly Sue.
Carell broke out into television as a cast member of the short-lived The Dana Carvey Show. This was succeeded by a number of short stints, including those in Saturday Night Live, Over the Top, Come to Papa, Just Shoot Me!, Watching Ellie and Melinda and Melinda.
Carell gained further recognition after playing supporting character Evan Baxter in the film Bruce Almighty. He also garnered attention in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, where he played weatherman Brick Tamland. In 2005, he got his major break as he landed the lead role of Michael Scott on NBC's remake of the British sitcom, The Office. For his performance, he won a 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Comedy.
Aside from the success in his acting career, Carell was also recognized with a Writer's Guild of America nomination for Best Original Screenplay for the summer box-office hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin from Universal Pictures, which was made possible through the help of co-writer Judd Apatow. The film also garnered the attention of Broadcast Film Critics Association, which recognized it as Best Comedy Film, and was listed as one of the Top 10 Movies of 2005 by the American Film Institute.
Carell's work does not stop there as he also lent his voice to the character Hammy in DreamWorks' animated feature, Over the Hedge. He also worked with Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette in the independent film Little Miss Sunshine, which was followed by his work on Evan Almighty, wherein he reprises his role of Evan Baxter. In 2007, he landed the lead role in the comedy Dan in Real Life. This was followed by voicing the Mayor of Whoville in the Dr. Seuss-based film Horton Hears a Who! in 2008. That year, he starred opposite Anne Hathaway and Dwayne Johnson in the crime comedy film Get Smart. He was also nominated for another Emmy Award, as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in The Office.
-2003 Bruce Almighty, Evan Baxter
-2004 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Brick Tamland
-Sleepover, Officer Sherman
-2004 Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie, Brick Tamland
-2005 Melinda and Melinda, Walt Wagner
-Bewitched, Uncle Arthur
-The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Andy Stitzer
-2006 Over the Hedge, Hammy (voice)
-Little Miss Sunshine, Frank Ginsburg
-2007 Evan Almighty, Evan Baxter
-Knocked Up, Himself
-Dan in Real Life, Dan Burns
-2008 Horton Hears a Who!, Ned McDodd: Mayor of WhoVille (voice)
-Get Smart, Maxwell Smart