Steve Carell has made it clear he’ll go to bat for one of his comedy peers, saying he’d happily defend a fellow funnyman’s name.
During a recent chat that ranged from UK comedy to pop culture, Carell didn’t hesitate when the conversation turned to one of his longtime collaborators.
The interview arrives as Carell promotes Rooster, a new series from Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence that also features Ted Lasso star Phil Dunster. Set on a college campus, the show sees Carell play an author navigating a strained relationship with his daughter — and it’s already been renewed for a second season by HBO.
Even with that new project, Carell’s career stretches far beyond Rooster, with decades of work alongside some of the biggest names in comedy.
When asked to give his verdict on Elf, Carell said the answer was an easy one — in large part because of who leads the film.
“This is one of my favorite people, for starters,” he said of the star Will Ferrell, before branding him ‘one of his funniest guys in the world’, and adding that he loved him dearly.
Carell and Ferrell have crossed paths on several major projects, including Anchorman, Bewitched, and The 40 Year-Old-Virgin — and they’ve remained a reliably popular pairing for audiences.
Carell also shared that Elf ranks among his personal favourite films, explaining that he even has a framed poster of the Christmas comedy displayed at home.
Beyond the laughs, he said Ferrell’s real-life personality is just as impressive as his screen presence.
Carell said: “My favourite Will Ferrell fact is that he seems like this big, crazy, guy – but he’s so thoughtful and kind, and has an incredibly gentle soul.
“Not that you wouldn’t think he is a lovely person, but he really is such a lovely guy.”
Over the years, that rapport has translated into memorable moments on screen — especially during the anything-goes energy of their early-2000s comedies.
Carell later explained that one of his most quoted Anchorman moments wasn’t painstakingly scripted, but came out of improvisation with Ferrell and director Adam McKay steering the chaos.
Talking about his famous ‘I love lamp’ line, Carell said: “Actually, we were just improvising in the movie, and I did just start looking around the room and, as Brick, and Will called me out on it and said, ‘Brick, are you just looking at things and saying that you love them?’
“And I just doubled down and kept saying that I do love them. So that’s how that came about. So much of that movie arrived in the moment.
“Director, Adam Mckay had a microphone and he’d just sit behind the monitor and throw things out at us, we would just say them. The trick was to not laugh because they were the funniest things ever. It has some of the best outtakes I’ve ever seen.
“It was a laugh-till-you-cry experience, and just amazing it actually got made. It’s amazing anybody paid to see this movie.”
Given how often the film is still quoted — and how fondly it’s remembered — plenty of people are glad it did get made.