In recent years, Steve Carell, who played memorable lovable goofs like Brick Tamland in Anchorman, Evan Baxter in Bruce Almighty, and Michael Scott on The Office, has challenged himself with more dramatic roles. He was nominated for an Oscar for Foxcatcher, played an addict’s father in Beautiful Boy, and this winter, he’ll work alongside heavyweights like Christian Bale (his weight is literally heavy) and Sam Rockwell in Vice (he portrays Donald Rumsfeld). But Carell is still the guy who got his start on The Dana Carvey Show at heart.
In the promo for this weekend’s SNL, Carell tries to prove to Aidy Bryant and Chris Redd that he’s a funny guy. “An actor prepares and I am an actor,” he says, before scribbling jokes in a notebook, workshopping banter and ethnically insensitive voices, and pulling an invisible mustache. Finally, after all his hard work, he gets the role of a lifetime: Dr. Farts, a doctor who can’t stop burping.
Give Dr. Farts all the Emmys Michael Scott never got. Speaking of: Carell recently explained why he thinks The Office shouldn’t come back, despite persistent reunion rumors. “It might be impossible to do that show today and have people accept it the way it was accepted ten years ago,” he said. “The climate’s different. I mean, the whole idea of that character, Michael Scott, so much of it was predicated on inappropriate behavior. I mean, he’s certainly not a model boss. A lot of what is depicted on that show is completely wrong-minded. That’s the point, you know? I just don’t know how that would fly now.”
Carell hosts SNL with musical guest Ella Mai.
