Steve Carell AIM Interview for 'Dan in Real Life'

In just a few years, Steve Carell has gone from supporting player to star, finding humor and pathos as a 40-year-old virgin and socially inept Michael Scott on NBC's 'The Office.' We chatted with Carell, who stars in 'Dan in Real Life' with Juliette Binoche and Dane Cook, about nude tightrope-walking and DJ names.

SteveinRealLife: hello there
MoviefoneTricia: is this steve himself?
MoviefoneTricia: in the flesh?
SteveinRealLife: mostly the flesh
MoviefoneTricia: ah! my lord, my liege!
MoviefoneTricia: sorry, couldn't help myself
SteveinRealLife: you may rise
MoviefoneTricia: ha. how are you?
SteveinRealLife: um. i'm tired and cranky
MoviefoneTricia: oh dear. what interview question are you sickest of so far?
MoviefoneTricia: and i'll be sure not to ask it
SteveinRealLife: what was it like kissing juliette binoche?
MoviefoneTricia: really? people ask that?
SteveinRealLife: um. yes. stupid people.
MoviefoneTricia: ok, instead, i will ask, what was it like kissing dane cook?
MoviefoneTricia: because i assume you did
MoviefoneTricia: off screen
SteveinRealLife: he is luminous
SteveinRealLife: and has lips like angel sent pillows
MoviefoneTricia: wow. now i'm both sleepy AND turned on
SteveinRealLife: i can't respond to that
MoviefoneTricia: heh. withdrawn
MoviefoneTricia: congrats on the movie, btw... i LOVED it
SteveinRealLife: thank you
MoviefoneTricia: what was it like to work with director peter hedges?
SteveinRealLife: enormously talented, kind, generous, funny
SteveinRealLife: and loving
MoviefoneTricia: also with angel lips, i presume
SteveinRealLife: you presume correctly
MoviefoneTricia: so did playing a dad with two kids who are driving and dating freak you out about getting to that stage with your own kids?
SteveinRealLife: i looked into the crystal ball of my future
SteveinRealLife: and was filled with fear
MoviefoneTricia: maybe you should just lock them in the house and never let them drive or date
MoviefoneTricia: that would solve all your problems
SteveinRealLife: i have a few years to contemplate what i should do
SteveinRealLife: but for the time being
SteveinRealLife: i'm happy that they're so young, and so innocent
MoviefoneTricia: as far as you know!
MoviefoneTricia: :-)
SteveinRealLife: ah. indeed.
MoviefoneTricia: in the movie, you're in a family talent show. what talent would you have if you were in a talent show, say, tomorrow?
SteveinRealLife: let's see...
SteveinRealLife: i would tightrope walk
SteveinRealLife: in the...
SteveinRealLife: nude
MoviefoneTricia: niiiiice
MoviefoneTricia: that is talent, indeed
SteveinRealLife: it's more sensationalistic than talent
MoviefoneTricia: but it's sensationalism that wins those things
SteveinRealLife: that's true
SteveinRealLife: all i want to do is win the talent show
SteveinRealLife: so i will pull out all the stops
MoviefoneTricia: and is tightrope walking an innate gift?
MoviefoneTricia: or do you have to practice
MoviefoneTricia: in the nude
SteveinRealLife: i actually have no ability to tightrope walk
MoviefoneTricia: oh, boo
MoviefoneTricia: i totally believed you
SteveinRealLife: thus my nude body falling helplessly to the pavement
SteveinRealLife: would be the sensation everyone was waiting to see
MoviefoneTricia: oh, now THAT would win
MoviefoneTricia: hey, non-movie question for a second
MoviefoneTricia: i read you were a dj in college
MoviefoneTricia: what was your dj name?
SteveinRealLife: sapphire steve carell
MoviefoneTricia: and the sapphire comes from?
SteveinRealLife: i interned under a dj named diamond doug kelly
SteveinRealLife: it's true
MoviefoneTricia: oh nice. and did everyone else have jewel names too?
SteveinRealLife: no. just us two nerds
MoviefoneTricia: haha. so if you were a dj today, you'd keep the sapphire?
SteveinRealLife: i'm thinking about changing my professional name to steve sapphire and dropping the carell
MoviefoneTricia: i love it
MoviefoneTricia: or just sapphire
MoviefoneTricia: like Jewel
SteveinRealLife: i'm getting hurried over here...
MoviefoneTricia: oh, ok
MoviefoneTricia: last question
MoviefoneTricia: any cryptic hints about what will happen to michael scott this season?
SteveinRealLife: love found, love lost, heartbreak, revelation and a new automobile
MoviefoneTricia: sweet
MoviefoneTricia: i can't wait
MoviefoneTricia: well i know you have to run
MoviefoneTricia: best of luck on the movie
SteveinRealLife: thank you. nice chatting with
you
MoviefoneTricia: thanks! have a good day

Patricia, aka MoviefoneTricia, is thinking of changing her name to Patricia Peridot.

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10 Fun Facts About Steve Carell

10 Fun Facts About Steve Carell
From 'Daily Show' correspondent to Golden Globe winner, 'Dan in Real Life' star Steve Carell's been having a blast of a career. Check out 10 fun facts about Carell. (Getty Images)
10 Fun Facts About Steve Carell
1. Born on August 16, 1962, in Acton, Mass., Carell shares a birthday with fellow Leos Madonna, Angela Bassett and director James Cameron. (Touchstone)
10 Fun Facts About Steve Carell
2. After college, Carell was a mail carrier in Littleton, Mass.; he also planned to attend law school, but wasn't motivated enough to complete his applications. (Getty Images)
10 Fun Facts About Steve Carell
3. Carell made his feature film debut as Tesio, a security guard in John Hughes' saccharine-sweet 'Curly Sue.' His sole line: "Tell Albert we have a situation." (Getty Images)
10 Fun Facts About Steve Carell
4. Are they or aren't they? Carell and Stephen Colbert have voiced The Ambiguously Gay Duo ever since the animated sketch debuted on 'The Dana Carvey Show.' (Getty Images)
10 Fun Facts About Steve Carell
5. Carell met his wife, Nancy Walls, when she took a class he was teaching at Chicago's Second City comedy troupe. On their first date, they went to a jazz club. (Getty Images)
10 Fun Facts About Steve Carell
6. Carell wrote one of the most popular episodes of 'The Office' -- the second-season finale 'Casino Night,' in which Jim kisses Pam for the first time. (NBC)
10 Fun Facts About Steve Carell
7. Carell's ethnic background is Italian: His father was born Edwin Caroselli, but changed the family name to Carell before Steve was born. (Getty Images)
10 Fun Facts About Steve Carell
8. Carell's first job as a 'Daily Show' correspondent was to interview an Elvis impersonator in Nebraska who kept snakes in his trailer (for "venom research"). (Getty Images)
10 Fun Facts About Steve Carell
9. Carell insisted to '40-Year-Old Virgin' director Judd Apatow that the chest-waxing scene be real. They filmed it in one take; his co-stars' reactions were genuine. (Universal)