Steve Carell made his acting debut in the 1991 comedy-drama film ‘Curly Sue’ directed by John Hughes. The film received mixed response from critics and was a moderate box office success. In 1996, he made his first television appearance in the sketch comedy television show ‘The Dana Carvey Show.’ Due to the show’s controversial theme and poor ratings, it was canceled after 8 episodes. That same year, he also became a part of the late-night live television sketch comedy show ‘Saturday Night Live’ where he voiced ‘Gary.’ He starred in 13 episodes of the show. In 1999, he joined the late-night talk and satirical news television program ‘The Daily Show’ as a correspondent. He remained a part of the show until 2005.
He starred as ‘Evan Baxter’ in the 2003 comedy film ‘Bruce Almighty’ directed by Tom Shadyac. Even though the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a massive box office success, grossing over $484.6 million against a budget of $81 million. The following year, he appeared in the American satirical comedy film ‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.’ The film opened to a positive reception and was a commercial success. In 2005, he starred as ‘Andy Stitzer’ in the romantic comedy film ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’ directed by Judd Apatow. The film opened to critical acclaim and was a phenomenal box office hit. That same year, Carell joined the main cast of the mockumentary sitcom series ‘The Office.’ His performance as Michael Scott earned him several award nominations, including 10 ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ and 5 ‘Golden Globe Award’ nominations. The series aired its final episode in May 2013.
Carell was next seen in ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ (2006), ‘Evan Almighty’ (2007), ‘Dan in Real Life’ (2007), ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ (2008), and ‘Get Smart’ (2008). In the 2010 computer-animated comedy film ‘Despicable Me,’ Carell voiced the character ‘Gru.’ The film opened to positive reviews with critics praising the screenplay and writing. ‘Despicable Me’ was also a major commercial success and went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of 2010. He went on to star in films like ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ (2011), ‘Seeking a Friend for the End of the World’ (2012), ‘Despicable Me 2’ (2013), and ‘Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues’ (2013).
In 2014, he portrayed ‘John Eleuthère du Pont’ in the biographical sports drama film ‘Foxcatcher,’ directed by Bennett Miller. His performance in the film earned him an ‘Academy Award’ nomination. ‘Foxcatcher’ received critical acclaim upon release but failed to achieve success at the box office. The following year, he starred as ‘Steven Goldstein’ in the drama film ‘Freeheld’ directed by Peter Sollett. The film received mixed reviews from critics. He was next seen in ‘Last Flag Flying’ (2017), ‘Beautiful Boy’ (2018), ‘Vice’ (2018), and ‘Welcome to Marwen’ (2018). In 2020, Carell acted in the political comedy film ‘Irresistible,’ directed by Jon Stewart. He is all set to appear in the upcoming computer-animated comedy film ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru.’