MANILA, Philippines - Steve Carell is known for playing characters who are off the wall but not in a dangerous or sinister way. From the inept Andy in the 40 Year Old Virgin, to the slightly mentally challenged Brick in Anchorman, to the socially awkward Michael Scott in The Office, this man knows how to play quirky. With his latest project, Despicable Me, he steps out of his comfort zone to lend his voice and his talent to a truly despicable character.
“It’s using a different muscle because you’re not communicating with other actors,” Carell says about the difference between voice acting and live action performances. “You can register what somebody’s going through on a given take and listen to what they’re saying and how they’re saying it because you pick up a lot from the people that you’re acting with. Generally speaking, at least for me, the better the person you’re with, the better you’re going to be because they’re giving you so much more. So this is different. This is a completely different exercise because you are by yourself. You’re just standing there with a microphone and you have the script in front of you. All I tried to do was give options.
Steve also describes the process as an imagination exercise.
“You have not only imagine what your character might be going through physically and emotionally but also what he might look like, what your surroundings or what your world might look like, so you have to close your eyes and imagine what might be happening around you,” he says. “And, on top of that, because of all the other characters, you have to give different types of line readings that might fit in with what all the other actors are doing as well. So, it’s fun and very freeing because, ultimately, you don’t have control over any of it. You’re just giving them many, many puzzle pieces that they then go off and fit together.”
The actor says he had fun doing the film.
“It’s a side that’s fun to do,” Steve says. “It’s all fun. It’s fun to mix and match, and play around with different voices. This character’s accent was just ridiculous. It’s fun to just play and experiment. What was great about this, in particular, was there was no impetus to do it correctly or within the lines. It was very free-wheeling and very supportive. We had a great freedom to fail, which I think is really liberating. The voice actors in this are just one paint color that the artists are painting with. You try to give them as great a spectrum as you can, but it’s ultimately their job to take it and create something wonderful out of it. It’s such an ego thing, too, because you go and see the movie, and it’s fantastic because of everything that they did, and you’re just this little tiny part of it. But also, at the same time, you feel so proud because you’re part of this greater process.”