Credit: Universal/courtesy Everett Collection; Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/MEGA

Steve Carell

During a 2016 appearance on Conan, Carell revealed how close he came to losing his breakthrough role in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. As he recalled, the studio shut down production one week into filming due to concerns about Carell’s performance.

“They said, ‘We’ve been watching the footage and you look like a serial killer,’” he remembered. “I was so bummed out. I thought, ‘That’s it.’”

Luckily, Apatow convinced studio executives to give Carell another chance, and together, they made a classic comedy.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin was released in a crucial year for Carell, as he was simultaneously starring in the first season of NBC’s The Office. The success of both comedies opened the door for Carell to land leading parts in Crazy, Stupid, Love, Date Night and The Way, Way Back.

Carell ventured into darker territory by playing convicted murderer John du Pont in 2014’s sports drama Foxcatcher, for which he earned Best Actor nominations at the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs. His family comedy-drama Little Miss Sunshine received a Best Picture Oscar nod while Carell was nominated for an Emmy for his depiction of a disgraced TV news anchor in the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show.

Carell met his future wife, Nancy Walls, while they were both performing at Second City. They got married in 1995 and share two children: daughter Elisabeth Anne, born in May 2001, and son John, born in June 2004.