History Creator / SteveCarell

* ReclusiveArtist: Not an extreme example, but he generally dislikes making a public spectacle of himself, doesn't give a lot of interviews and says that, in between projects, he much prefers spending time with his family.
* SilverFox: Once he started going gray, all corners of the Steve Carell fandom remarked that he's one of the lucky few who managed to get better-looking with age. It's not uncommon to find then-vs-now photos depicting Steve during his [[Series/TheOfficeUS Michale Scott debut]] (where his hair was visibly thinning) compared to current photos of him.

First coming to fame as a correspondent on ''Series/TheDailyShowWithJonStewart'' (and like fellow correspondent Creator/StephenColbert a Creator/SecondCity veteran), he is perhaps most recognized for portraying the character of [[Characters/TheOfficeUSMichaelScott Michael Scott]] on ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'', the American adaptation of [[Series/TheOfficeUK the British sitcom]] (for which he received a Golden Globe Award for best actor in a television comedy series). Since then, he's risen to prominence on the big screen, his first starring feature being ''Film/TheFortyYearOldVirgin'', wherein he portrayed the titular character, Andy Stitzer. However, he had minor film roles prior to that, such as Brick Tamland, the Channel 4 News team's [[TheDitz moronic]] weatherman in ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'' and Evan Baxter, the SmallNameBigEgo [[TheRival rival]] to Creator/JimCarrey's Bruce Nolan in ''Film/BruceAlmighty''. He's also known for being the voice of Gru in the ''Franchise/DespicableMe'' films, voicing him since 2010. He's since gone on to take on a variety of roles, proving equally adept in comedy and drama, and even showing that he can completely disappear into some truly dark and disturbed characters.

* ''Film/TheBigShort'' - a serious character who gets a lot of laughs for his abrasive personality, nonexistent social skills, and liberal use of F-bombs.

* CoveredInGunge: This happened to him twice at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Once was in the 2007 ceremony with Creator/TobeyMaguire, while the other was in the 2010 ceremony with Creator/TinaFey.

First coming to fame as a correspondent on ''Series/TheDailyShowWithJonStewart'' (and like fellow correspondent Creator/StephenColbert a Creator/SecondCity veteran), he is perhaps most recognized for portraying the character of [[Characters/TheOfficeUSMichaelScott Michael Scott]] on ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'', the American adaptation of [[Series/TheOfficeUK the British sitcom]] (for which he received a Golden Globe Award for best actor in a television comedy series). Since then, he's risen to prominence on the big screen, his first starring feature being ''Film/TheFortyYearOldVirgin'', wherein he portrayed the titular character, Andy Stitzer. However, he had minor film roles prior to that, such as Brick Tamland, the Channel 4 News team's [[TheDitz moronic]] weatherman in ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'' and Evan Baxter, the SmallNameBigEgo [[TheRival rival]] to Creator/JimCarrey's Bruce Nolan in ''Film/BruceAlmighty''. He's since gone on to take on a variety of roles, proving equally adept in comedy and drama, and even showing that he can completely disappear into some truly dark and disturbed characters.

* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe''

*** ''WesternAnimation/MinionsTheRiseOfGru''

* LargeHam: [[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe We are going to steal-pause for effect-THE MOON!]] His character in WesternAnimation/OverTheHedge (who, appropriately enough, is named Hammy) also definitely qualifies.

* VocalEvolution: His voice as Gru has evolved across the ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'' films. In the beginning, he was speaking in his normal voice while using an accent. By the third film, Gru became more guttural and gruff.

* ''Literature/HortonHearsAWho''

[[HiddenDepths People tend to forget he's a pretty jam-up writer]]; he co-wrote ''Film/TheFortyYearOldVirgin'' and also wrote the Season 2 finale of ''The Office'' ("Casino Night"), widely regarded as one of the best episodes of the series. On top of this, he and his wife Nancy created the TBS series ''Series/AngieTribeca'' and wrote the pilot episode.

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* BerserkButton: He does '''not''' appreciate paparazzi invading his family's lives. One day when he was teaching his daughter Annie how to ride a bike, the two of them saw paparazzi taking photos of them and Annie was so flustered that she quit and ran inside crying. Steve was livid and [[PapaWolf confronted the photographers]] (who actually wound up ''apologizing'') outside his house.

* NiceGuy: By all accounts, he is one of the nicest, most down-to-earth guys in Hollywood.
* PlayingAgainstType: His roles in ''Film/LittleMissSunshine'' and ''Film/TheWayWayBack'', as well as his Oscar-nominated work in ''Film/{{Foxcatcher}}'', are all noted departures for the actor. Mitch Kessler from The Morning Show also counts as this.