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Today, Steve Carell is known as the connoisseur of the comedy genre. Sure, he has a few dramatic roles to his name but his comedic timing is what sets him apart from the crowd. There’s no one who isn’t a fan of the guy! Whether he is playing an out-of-touch regional manager or a former supervillain on the road to redemption, Steve Carell knows how to nail every role thrown his way and we can’t help but admire him for it.
Steve Carell in a still from The Office | Credits: NBCHowever, there was a point in his life where he almost had to say goodbye to the big Hollywood dream after the production house of his film raised eyebrows at him. The film we are talking about is none other than the iconic The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Apparently, Universal Pictures thought Steve Carell looked like a…serial killer.
Universal Pictures’ problem with Steve Carell in The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Steve Carell in The 40-Year-Old Virgin | Credits: Universal PicturesThe 40-Year-Old Virgin is undoubtedly one of the best works in Steve Carell’s filmography. Playing the role of a shy yet lovable virgin Andy Stitzer, the actor established himself in the film industry as a comedy God. Unfortunately, all of this could have gone away in the blink of an eye.
Talking to Esquire, Carell confided that when Universal Pictures saw the first round of the film’s raw footage just after a week of production, they shut it all down.
Judd Apatow and Carell had written the film and sold it to Universal who were pretty quick in purchasing the script. Only one week had gone since the studio heard their pitch and production began.
But when their eyes fell on the first bunch of the film’s unedited footage, they had some serious concerns. Carell told Esquire that Universal shut down production after a week with the higher-ups believing that he looked a little too creepy.
The dailies of my character just looked too creepy. They said I looked like a serial killer.
The sweet, kind-looking actor we all love couldn’t look farther from a serial killer but that’s clearly not what Universal thought. Luckily, Carell was able to convince them that he simply hadn’t put his heart into the scenes and The 40-Year-Old Virgin was saved.
Steve Carell was completely bummed out
A still from The 40-Year-Old Virgin | Credits: Universal PicturesAlmost a decade ago, Carell graced the set of Conan where he delved deeper into the hilarious anecdote. As it turns out, Universal took a step back from the film without the actor getting any dialogues in yet.
They had simply shot the scene where Carell’s character was driving down the streets on his bike, cringing at the suggestive posters around him. Apparently, that’s all it took for the studio to say, ‘Hell no!’
Carell recalled how Apatow came to him and said,
‘Universal wants to talk to us. They’re shutting us down.’ They said, ‘We’ve been watching footage, and you look like a serial killer.’ We hadn’t shot any dialogue. It was me riding my bike with a weird helmet, and it was me walking down the street and seeing suggestive posters and going ‘eghh.’ And just that week compiled, they went, ‘No, no, no, this is not a comedy.’
Needless to say, this would have been a punch to the gut for Carell who wholeheartedly believed that this film was the one shot he had of making it big in the film industry.
He recalled being bummed out about the whole mess stating,
I was so bummed out. I thought, that’s it. That was the big shot, and it wasn’t going to work out. And then thankfully we started up on Monday and finished shooting.
Not only did The 40-Year-Old Virgin bring in $176 million at the box office on a budget of $26 million (via The Numbers) but was also deemed as ‘The Best Reviewed Comedy of 2005’ by Rotten Tomatoes who scored it a solid 84%.
Both the film and Carell won a few awards that season, including an MTV Movie and TV Award and a Critics Choice Association award. Well, it’s a good thing Universal stopped themselves from committing a grave mistake.
The 40-Year-Old Virgin is available to rent/buy on Prime Video.
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