Improvisation. Merriam-Webster defines it as, the act or art of composing, reciting, playing, or singing extemporaneously or without prior preparation. Comedians have been taking advantage of this technique for as long as people have known how to laugh. Steve Carell is one such actor that has been able to make millions using this skill. But how exactly is he so good at it?
His ability to improvise can be explained in a two different ways. First, history has shown that humans needed to improvise to survive. Another reason could be because of Carell's history as a comedic improviser. Either way there is no dispute that Steve Carell is one of the funniest actors of all time.
Ever since the beginning ofhumankind, improv has played a vital role in the survival of out species. There was a period of time in out history where our population was a mere 1,000-10,000. One theory has arisen that we were able to survive by improvisation(1).
Early Homo sapiens put special importance to the group rather than the individual because of improvisation. Early humanoids were able to make positive contributions to the group as well as look out for the others in the group. Without this mentality we would not have been able to fend off predators and operate in such a way that promoted advancement of the group.
This survival technique has been able to stand the test of time. Improvisers have adapted this ability create songs on the fly, make successful sports plays, and in the case of Steve Carell, make us laugh. In fact, film comedians have been taking advantage of this skill ever since people made movies. Will Ferrell, Mike Meyers, Tina Fey, and John Belushi are just some of the many great comedic improvisers that constantly make us laugh.
Over his entire acting career, Steve have been able to become worth an upwards of 45 million dollars(2). So how has he been able to make such a living on just making people laugh? First off he made a ton of money while acting in flicks such as The 40-Year Old Virgin, Crazy, Stupid, love., and even Despicable Me. His involvement in big Hollywood films is a huge part of it. But there is more to it than just that.
When people go to watch a comedy film for the first time, especially one with Steve Carell as part of the cast, they will laugh (as the genre suggests). Then that is followed by a, ”Wow, Steve Carell is really funny,” rarely do they stop and think what actually makes him as funny as he is.
To fully understand what makes him tick, one must know his background. Steve grew up the youngest of four in Concord, Massachusetts and attended both The Fenn School and Middlesex School. He then decided to further his education and attended Dennison University(3).
While in college, Carell studied pre-law, in hopes to have a legal career. In his spare time, Steve found himself involved in Burpee’s Seedy Theatrical Company, a collegiate improv group. In a later conversation he had with his parents about his future, Steve says, “I was actually filling out my law school applications, and I got to the essay question, which was, ‘Why do you want to be an attorney?’ And I couldn’t answer it. I really didn’t know and I went in and talked to my parents and they asked me, like, ‘What do you enjoy doing?’ ‘What have you always liked to do?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’ve always liked to act, I mean, it’s always been fun.’ And they’re the ones who said, ‘Well, then do it.’”(4) This would soon become his first step towards where he is today.
From Dennison, Steve eventually traveled to Chicago where he became a part of the famous Second City comedy troupe. While being there for almost a decade, Carell quickly started filling up his resume by making film and television appearances. One of his more notable works during this time would be his involvement as both a writer and performer on The Dana Carvey Show. As with any other profession, Steve needed to start moving up the totem pole, so to speak.
In 1999, Carell moved to New York City, to join the cast of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a fake news show by Comedy Central(4). While on the show, he interviewed many individuals, such as John McCain. This important to point out because it shows ho Carell was able to handle himself in a serious but funny way. Carell stayed on the show for 5 years before landing his breakout role.
In 2005, NBC casted Carell to play the part of Michael Scott, in the soon-to-be hit show The Office; A comedy about a group of paper supply company workers. But this wasn’t enough for him. He soon started acting in big hit films such as, Evan Almighty, Horton Hears a Who, Despicable Me, and Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Soon after getting the job on The Office, Steve decided to pursue a film career as well. Some of his hit movies include The 40-Year Old Virgin, Get Smart, Evan Almighty, Date Night, Despicable Me, and Dinner For Schmucks. In each of these movies Steve resorts back to improvisation in order to make people laugh. “I improvised everything,” Carell said when he was talking about the hit movie, Get Smart. He even goes on to say that all of his movies have scripts, but there is also so room to improvise some bits as well. And that’s when Steve is the funniest.
In the comedy film Dinner for Schmucks, Carell was pretty much given free rein when it came to certain scenes in the film. His only rule was to make each scene completely different while still remaining in character. In a later interview, Jay Roach, director of Dinner for Schmucks, said, “Most actors give you two or three useable takes out of ten, but with Steve eight out of ten are great, each in a different way, each playing off decisions he made in an earlier scene or is going to make later. He has the extremely rare ability to run the entire movie in his head. And it’s probably a better movie that the one I’m going to make.”
Each one of us has the ability to improvise. Our species originally used it survive. In today’s society we have adopted a new use for this ancient skill; To make people laugh, and throughout his career no one has been able to be as good as Steve Carell.
Work Cited:
1."Improvisation: the Original Survival Tool « Interdisciplined." Interdisciplined. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://bradfortier.com/2010/12/01/improvisation-the-original-survival-tool/>.
2."Steve Carell Net Worth | Celebrity Net Worth." Net Worth, Richest Rappers, Celebrities, Athletes, Salary and Houses. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/actors/steve-carell-net-worth/>.
3." Steve Carell Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com ."Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/steve-carell-562090>.
4. "The comedy improvisation of Steve Carell : The New Yorker." The New Yorker. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/07/05/100705fa_fact_friend>.
His ability to improvise can be explained in a two different ways. First, history has shown that humans needed to improvise to survive. Another reason could be because of Carell's history as a comedic improviser. Either way there is no dispute that Steve Carell is one of the funniest actors of all time.
Ever since the beginning ofhumankind, improv has played a vital role in the survival of out species. There was a period of time in out history where our population was a mere 1,000-10,000. One theory has arisen that we were able to survive by improvisation(1).
Early Homo sapiens put special importance to the group rather than the individual because of improvisation. Early humanoids were able to make positive contributions to the group as well as look out for the others in the group. Without this mentality we would not have been able to fend off predators and operate in such a way that promoted advancement of the group.
This survival technique has been able to stand the test of time. Improvisers have adapted this ability create songs on the fly, make successful sports plays, and in the case of Steve Carell, make us laugh. In fact, film comedians have been taking advantage of this skill ever since people made movies. Will Ferrell, Mike Meyers, Tina Fey, and John Belushi are just some of the many great comedic improvisers that constantly make us laugh.
Over his entire acting career, Steve have been able to become worth an upwards of 45 million dollars(2). So how has he been able to make such a living on just making people laugh? First off he made a ton of money while acting in flicks such as The 40-Year Old Virgin, Crazy, Stupid, love., and even Despicable Me. His involvement in big Hollywood films is a huge part of it. But there is more to it than just that.
When people go to watch a comedy film for the first time, especially one with Steve Carell as part of the cast, they will laugh (as the genre suggests). Then that is followed by a, ”Wow, Steve Carell is really funny,” rarely do they stop and think what actually makes him as funny as he is.
To fully understand what makes him tick, one must know his background. Steve grew up the youngest of four in Concord, Massachusetts and attended both The Fenn School and Middlesex School. He then decided to further his education and attended Dennison University(3).
While in college, Carell studied pre-law, in hopes to have a legal career. In his spare time, Steve found himself involved in Burpee’s Seedy Theatrical Company, a collegiate improv group. In a later conversation he had with his parents about his future, Steve says, “I was actually filling out my law school applications, and I got to the essay question, which was, ‘Why do you want to be an attorney?’ And I couldn’t answer it. I really didn’t know and I went in and talked to my parents and they asked me, like, ‘What do you enjoy doing?’ ‘What have you always liked to do?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’ve always liked to act, I mean, it’s always been fun.’ And they’re the ones who said, ‘Well, then do it.’”(4) This would soon become his first step towards where he is today.
From Dennison, Steve eventually traveled to Chicago where he became a part of the famous Second City comedy troupe. While being there for almost a decade, Carell quickly started filling up his resume by making film and television appearances. One of his more notable works during this time would be his involvement as both a writer and performer on The Dana Carvey Show. As with any other profession, Steve needed to start moving up the totem pole, so to speak.
In 1999, Carell moved to New York City, to join the cast of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a fake news show by Comedy Central(4). While on the show, he interviewed many individuals, such as John McCain. This important to point out because it shows ho Carell was able to handle himself in a serious but funny way. Carell stayed on the show for 5 years before landing his breakout role.
In 2005, NBC casted Carell to play the part of Michael Scott, in the soon-to-be hit show The Office; A comedy about a group of paper supply company workers. But this wasn’t enough for him. He soon started acting in big hit films such as, Evan Almighty, Horton Hears a Who, Despicable Me, and Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Soon after getting the job on The Office, Steve decided to pursue a film career as well. Some of his hit movies include The 40-Year Old Virgin, Get Smart, Evan Almighty, Date Night, Despicable Me, and Dinner For Schmucks. In each of these movies Steve resorts back to improvisation in order to make people laugh. “I improvised everything,” Carell said when he was talking about the hit movie, Get Smart. He even goes on to say that all of his movies have scripts, but there is also so room to improvise some bits as well. And that’s when Steve is the funniest.
In the comedy film Dinner for Schmucks, Carell was pretty much given free rein when it came to certain scenes in the film. His only rule was to make each scene completely different while still remaining in character. In a later interview, Jay Roach, director of Dinner for Schmucks, said, “Most actors give you two or three useable takes out of ten, but with Steve eight out of ten are great, each in a different way, each playing off decisions he made in an earlier scene or is going to make later. He has the extremely rare ability to run the entire movie in his head. And it’s probably a better movie that the one I’m going to make.”
Each one of us has the ability to improvise. Our species originally used it survive. In today’s society we have adopted a new use for this ancient skill; To make people laugh, and throughout his career no one has been able to be as good as Steve Carell.
Work Cited:
1."Improvisation: the Original Survival Tool « Interdisciplined." Interdisciplined. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://bradfortier.com/2010/12/01/improvisation-the-original-survival-tool/>.
2."Steve Carell Net Worth | Celebrity Net Worth." Net Worth, Richest Rappers, Celebrities, Athletes, Salary and Houses. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/actors/steve-carell-net-worth/>.
3." Steve Carell Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com ."Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/steve-carell-562090>.
4. "The comedy improvisation of Steve Carell : The New Yorker." The New Yorker. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/07/05/100705fa_fact_friend>.