The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

"In real life I'm really not funny": Will treatment with a psychopath bring Steve Carell the prize he's missing? | Israel today

2022-12-10T07:33:46.785Z


After celebrating 60 and making history as Michael Scott in "The Office", Steve Carell returns to the small screen in the role of a Jewish psychologist who treats a serial killer • Rumors in Hollywood say that this will be the role that finally brings him the Emmy, after many nominations and zero wins • In a conversation with him, he tells how Faced with such a challenging role, discovers that in real life he is not that funny and confesses that despite his status as a star - he still buys clothes himself at the mall


For seven seasons, Steve Carell led "The Office" - an American adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Jarvis and which is considered one of the best series of the 2000s - and played a role in it that paved the way for him in Hollywood.

Despite garnering justifiable praise from all sides, Carl was snubbed by the American Television Academy with ten consecutive nominations - half of them for lead actor and half of them in the best comedy series category, by virtue of being one of the producers - but not a single win in what many consider to be one of the Emmy Award's failures for generations.

"The world of television should be so ashamed of itself that Carl never won an Emmy for the role of Michael Scott," tweeted actor Rain Wilson (Dwight in "The Office") indignantly at the end of the 2011 Emmy ceremony, after which Carl retired from the series.

Two years ago he was nominated for the 11th time for the drama series "The Morning Show" alongside Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, and again came away empty handed.

"I have mixed feelings about the awards," Karl says now looking back, "my passion for the profession was never to win awards, it was never my motivation. But when I was nominated for my mother, the Golden Globe and also the Oscar - it's great fun, nothing to say The very nomination is a refined recognition in itself, a recognition of my work, which I try not to take too seriously, I enjoy it but I don't dwell on thoughts of winning."

Did you ever dream that you would be nominated for so many awards?

"As a teenager, I couldn't imagine where I would end up in my career, and even when I was a 30-year-old man. The commercial breakthrough happened in my early 40s with '40-year-old virgin' and 'The Office.' Interviews and press conferences and going to festivals, I didn't imagine there would be so much interest in what I did or a desire to discuss my abilities and creative choices as an actor. I was never that dreamy young man who scribbles his signature and practices to one day give it to fans everywhere. For me, working and getting drunk was enough in life . And if I manage to get married, start a house and a family and send the children to college - he will not be happy with me. Honestly, I did not aspire beyond that."

Have you always wanted to be an actor?

"I always enjoyed acting. The decision to make it a profession came after college, and even then the choice to be an actor did not touch stardom, it was not an element in the equation. A few years ago I was at a screening of 'Fox Catcher' (his 2014 film about Oscar nominee, DC) for members of the Actors Guild and at the end there was a panel in front of the audience.

It was already late, and suddenly a 11-12 year old boy stood up, no more, introduced himself as an actor-director-screenwriter-producer and asked how one could become a star.

The whole audience was fascinated by the audacity of that boy, and it was an amusing and cute moment, but I didn't really know how to answer him.

It crossed my mind to say that it is late and that he should hurry to go home and sleep because there is school in the morning, and he will live his life, gain experiences and experience, that acting and advertising will not occupy him.

It is better to concentrate on the rich world around you, fill your soul and develop your feelings, which one day will serve as tools in your profession.

The idea of ​​working to become a star is twisted.

If you want to be an actor, just go for it, there's tons of advice.

But dreaming of stardom is such an elusive and crazy thing to aim for.

These are dreams that are completely unfamiliar to me.

I wasn't like that in my youth, and my whole life is a great little accident."

"These are very unusual situations in which the characters find themselves, with difficult climaxes in terms of the storyline,"

New series and a warm hug

After celebrating his 60th birthday in August, Carl returns to the small screen in a new and talked-about miniseries called "The Patient", which premiered last week on the Disney+ streaming service after a particularly warm embrace from American television critics in recent weeks, with a fairly broad consensus claiming that the time has come to award Carl the Emmy In the next ceremony for his role.

In the series of ten short episodes, Karl portrays the character of Alan Strauss, a Jewish-American psychologist and newly widowed who is dealing in his personal life with the estrangement of his son Ezra (Andrew Leeds, "A Million Little Things"), who has returned to repentance.

At the same time, a patient at his clinic, Sam Portner (Donal Gleason, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", "Star Wars"), a serial killer employed by the municipal supervision of local restaurants, who soon becomes a threat to Alan's life, enters his life.

The series is signed by the creative team Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, who are also responsible for the acclaimed drama series "The Americans", which ran successfully for six seasons, and is based on the dialogues between the characters of Carl and Gleason in particularly impressive acting performances by each of the actors, as well as on signs Many Jews around Strauss's background.

"I really liked these intimate and tension-filled scenes between the two of us. I wish they would have locked me up to sit in one closed place like that in every role from here on out," says Carl in a Zoom interview that we conducted especially for the broadcast of the series in Israel.

"To be honest, it's not an easy challenge to stay in the same place for many long days of shooting. I thought to myself, I just don't want them to forget me if there's an earthquake or a fire, and make sure to get me out of there. I didn't feel like it was clichéd in the simple sense of two actors sitting across from each other . The feeling was like a familiar space that brought out from us qualities that foreshadow something terrible that is about to happen. It was very refreshing, especially against Donnell, who is a phenomenal player and thanks to him I had one of the best playing experiences ever. Donnell takes the job very seriously, but does not take the himself seriously. To me, this is the perfect combination in the profession. When the moment comes to hit a show, and we both give everything we have - we are on the same page. We tried to decipher where each other's thoughts are during each scene.

Without spoilers, the treatment takes place in a very unexpected way.

"This is an extreme reality, not a treatment situation as we know it in a conventional format. A lot is at stake here, to the point of life or death. My character finds herself in an uncomfortable position, and she is required to re-navigate and hold a kind of negotiation on how she can conduct herself professionally . We talked a lot about how much this is a treatment situation and how much it is a manipulation of the dynamics between the two characters. In the end, everything is as tangled as a cocoon of threads - the tension, the anxiety, the horror and the human empathy of the therapist's duty to help others."

Does such a dramatic and serious role require other abilities from you than comedy?

"Some will think that I used improvisation for the sake of the character, which is a very acceptable technique in a comic work. There were such elements in the game, but not in the dialogues. I did not change texts, but I wanted to be as precise and clean as possible to convey the story to the viewer - what's more, there was no need to add or omit words. A good script makes the work easier, and I hope it shows. I felt that I was absorbed in the plot, and this is evidence of a series that is written and produced with high quality. Throughout the filming, there was a strong feeling that there was something here with great potential to sweep away the viewers."

Do you think you could be a good therapist?

"I myself go to a therapist who helps me connect the dots and put all sorts of things in order. There I am also asked very specific questions, which help me draw conclusions about my life. Therapists are not 'whisperers to people', but simply professionals with the ability to listen and help, to assist in finding Ways of communication and connection with the environment in general. My pleasure comes from the fact that I am allowed to pretend that I am a therapist within the acting profession."

In the character of Michael Scott from "The Office", photo: from the series

ranging from comedy to drama

Karl was born in Massachusetts in 1962, and after odd jobs in his youth - such as a radio broadcaster at the college where he studied, a mailman and an actor in children's shows - he began to focus on comedy when he joined the Second City ensemble in Chicago - an incubator from which later stars such as Mike Myers, Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert emerged. who was Karl's replacement in the shows in the early 90s.

He appeared in the sketch show of the former "Saturday Night Live" Dana Carvey, in the film comedy "A Rogue Named Sue" and the sitcom "Kill Me and That's It", until he joined the satirical light-night program "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart in 1999.

But the big opportunity came with "The Office" that appeared in early 2005, alongside a film career that gained momentum as his star on television went through.

On the big screen, he appeared in comedies such as "The News Hills" and "The Greatest Bruce of All" with Jim Carrey and in the pawn "Flood of Trouble", where he was promoted to the main role but the film failed to reproduce the success of its predecessor, as well as in the independent film "Little Miss Sunshine" Released in 2006 and was a great box office success, with two Oscar wins alongside a prestigious nomination in the best film category.

"I didn't have much text there. I remember when I first got the script, a friend even advised me not to take the role because there wasn't enough meat and I wouldn't stand out," he recalled.

"All I knew was that I really liked the script, I liked the characters and I wanted to be part of the cast, I didn't care that I wasn't the main protagonist. Just because your character doesn't have much to say verbally doesn't mean you're not present or felt. On the contrary, then it's really a challenge For me as an actor. I open the film after a failed suicide attempt, which is already a gloomy starting point and with a lack of clarity as to where the whole business is going, so it is not a comedy in the traditional sense, but more of a drama that reflects a piece of life, and this is what probably speaks to the viewers. And the proof - its success The film won."

Did this success surprise you?

"Everything happened quickly at that time. When they called me from Universal Studios to tell me how well '40-year-old virgin' did at the box office, I didn't understand the magnitude of it. I was in the garden at home, pulling weeds. Then I was called for the action comedy 'Play it Smart' and I arrived at the meeting at the Brothers Studios Warner with my audition photo, because I thought I should audition. I didn't even realize that the role was being offered to me, and when I entered the room and realized I was in a different position, I hurried to hide the photo. I tried to be a voice. It was a moment of shock that here everything changes. But I still get up every morning and tidy up the bed".

From the beginning of the previous decade, he led, dubbing the character of the supervillain Gro, the animated films "Stolen on the Moon" with the Minions - which have brought in 4.4 billion dollars to date.

He also played in films such as "Stupid, Crazy, in Love", "The World According to Duncan" and the satire "The Money Machine" from 2015 in which he starred alongside Christian Bale, Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling, which was nominated for five Oscars.

"I enjoy moving between comedies and dramas and always try to act in the most sincere way so that the audience feels the truth from me. My approach is the same for all genres - comedies work when they create a connection and you laugh when it's natural and not forced, and the same emotional reaction is also true for drama. Therefore, if Overdramatic actors play the role too heavily, it doesn't work. You have to remember that you are playing a character who is not aware of the situation in which she is placed. The worst comedies are those that beg to be laughed at, or worse - when you laugh without it being the intention."

Are you a funny person yourself?

"In real life? Absolutely not. My first wife will testify to that," he states with humor and mentions his wife of 27 years, Nancy Wells, who played in the films "Workshop for Nerves" and "Bachelorette Party".

The couple has two adult children, Elizabeth (21) and John (18).

"We are very straightforward parents with the children. They are already at an age where they understand the complexities of the world. When the Corona closures began, I discovered how well they adapted to the situation and I was very proud. They walked around with an optimistic feeling that in the end everything would be fine, and I would say that together, As a nuclear family, the four of us felt empowered. In the end, you want to do the best for your children, and you see the results as they grow and develop before your eyes."

Steve Karl in "The Patient", photo: courtesy of Disney Israel

Do you have a guiding principle for parenting?

"I believe you reap what you sow. Children feel when love is showered on them. My parents were devoted and invested in me and my brother, and still worked full-time jobs. My mother was a nurse who worked nights, but came home every morning just in time to send the four of us off to school. She also found time to volunteer at a clothing store for the needy. In my eyes, she was always a superwoman. My father worked during the day as an engineer. They arranged it between them so that there would always be someone at home with the boys, and they also instilled in us a work ethic and responsibility along the way. As a father, you understand how much you want to give For your children exactly as you received for yourself, and more. My brothers have also always protected me. I am the youngest, and the brother before me is five years older than me."

Did the family foundation protect you when you became famous?

"When the career breakthrough came, luckily my head was already firmly attached to the body and I didn't get lost. I already knew that family was the most important thing. I was always with my feet on the ground, but the insight came after the career breakthrough - that there is nothing more precious to me than my personal life with my family. There is no Nothing worth the risk of that - not another role, not producing or writing a big project. This is who I am."

Was there a moment when you felt fame knocking on the door?

Have you been showered with some luxury gift?

"The only thing I remember was a gift I received - a fancy box of fashionable socks. It was really unrelated to anything, so I remember it. They sent me a letter, boasted about how elite a brand they were all over the world and stated that they felt I deserved to wear their socks . I thought to myself, 'Okay, your socks are fine. But what do you want from me?'

So I added more socks to my drawer, but I continue to buy my clothes myself, at the mall."

dcaspi@goldenglobes.org

were we wrong

We will fix it!

If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2022-12-10

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.