50 interesting facts about Steve Carell: He is a talented ice hockey player

Actor Steve Carell has earned acclaim for his comedic work on TV series such as ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ and ‘The Office’ and in films such as ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’ and his Oscar-nominated performance in ‘Foxcatcher.’

1. Steven John Carell was born on on August 16, 1962, in Concord, Massachusetts.

2. His father is an electrical engineer and his mother is a psychiatric nurse.

3. Steve's paternal grandfather was Italian and his dad was born with the surname Caroselli, which he changed to Carell before the comedian was born. Steve says of the more exotic moniker: "Frankly I almost wish I'd grown up with it because it would have been misspelled far less frequently [than Carell]. Everyone puts in two Rs and two Ls."

4. As a student, Carell attended The Fenn School, a private school for boys in Concord, Massachusetts, then Middlesex School, also in his hometown, before heading out to Ohio to attend college at Dennison University.

5. The young Steve tried to make his family laugh by dressing up as an alien and then sitting at the dinner table.

6. While in high school, Steve Carell was the editor-in-chief of the school paper.

7. He grew up with three older brothers and worked as a mail carrier before joining a children's theater company. Ironically enough, he later played the pivotal role of 'Mail Room Guy Without Glasses' in 1998 film Tomorrow Night.

8. Carell was raised Roman Catholic. "I hope that God gives me guidance and that he directs me to make good choices, and that he helps me with my family. But that is such a personal thing and I think everyone has a different idea of what God is and what he represents."

9. As a teenager, Carell worked at the Massachusetts convenient shop "Store 24." He later incorporated the store's nutty personalities into his comedy bits.

10. While studying pre-law at Dennison college, Steve became a member of the country's oldest collegiate improv troupe, called Burpee's Seedy Theatrical Company.

11. Denison University is not only the alma mater of Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner, it is also the alma mater of Hal Holbrook, John Davidson, John Schuck, and Tom Cotter.

12. Before he decided he wanted to be an actor, he was seriously considering getting a law degree. "I was actually filling out my law school applications," Carell later recalled. "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.'"

13. After graduating from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, he moved to Chicago where he taught an improvisational comedy class and performed with The Second City troupe, alongside Stephen Colbert.

14. While at the famed Second City Improv troupe in Chicago and met his future wife, Nancy Walls. When Walls went to New York to audition for "Saturday Night Live," Steve joined her and ended up getting a job as a writer and occasional performer on the "Dana Carvey Show."

15. Steve Carell also applied for a position at SNL but he didn't make it an instead lost the spot to Will Ferrell.

16. Carell made his film debut in 1991 with Curly Sue, a forgettable John Hughes family comedy starring Jim Belushi.

17. However, "The Dana Carvey Show" helped advance Steve Carell's career in the long run. Steve was placed in a writer's room that contained Stephen Colbert, Louis CK, Robert Smigel, Bob Odenkirk, and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. Steve's friendship with Colbert would lead directly to his breakout "Daily Show" gig, when Colbert recommended Carell to the producers.

18. Steve was on "The Daily Show" from 1999 until 2004. He often worked with Stephen Colbert in such recurring sketches as "Even Stephven" and "Produce Pete with Steve Carell".

19. He married Nancy Walls in 1995 and they have two children, Elisabeth Anne "Annie" (born 2001) and Johnny (born 2004).

20. He enjoys playing ice hockey and his favorite position is goalkeeper. Carell even plays for the mens league in Burbank California.

21. Steve Carell is famous for his role in "The Office" but he was far from the top of producer Ricky Gervais' dream cast list. Paul Giamatti, Hank Azaria, Bob Odenkirk, and Martin Short were all considered ahead of him.

22. Steve felt the pressure when he tried out for Ricky Gervais's role in the US version of The Office. He says: "When I was invited to audition for Michael Scott, people treated me as if I had a disease. They said, 'You have to be crazy even auditioning for this, Steve. It's going to be terrible."

23. He won a Golden Globe award in 2006 for this role, and also received two Emmy nominations in 2006 and 2007.

24. In The Office episode "Gay Witch Hunt," the script called for Carell to peck Oscar on the cheek. Carell improvised and kissed him on the lips.

25. He was in three failed sitcoms before he starred in NBC's version of The Office (2005).

26. Steve and his wife Nancy own a general store in Marshfield, Massachusetts. Residents claim that Carell will occasionally stop in and help stock shelves.

27. Nancy Carell acted with him on The Office as his realtor and short-lived girlfriend Carol Stills, and also cameoed as a sex therapist in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and played Linda in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

28. Carell's first hit, Evan Almighty, is banned in Egypt for content that is deemed "sacrilegious."

29. Steve Carell said he enjoyed staring in the movie "Evan Almighty." He recalls: "They do what animals do, they don't smell particularly good, and they sometimes want to attack you when you raise your voice. The baboons took umbrage, shall I say, when I improvised with them." Eek!

30. Steve had his chest waxed for real in 2005's The 40-Year-Old Virgin because he wanted his reactions to look as real as possible.

31. He's the king of the remake. Three of Carell's most prominent roles have been retreads: The Office, Bewitched, and Get Smart.

32. His gloomy gay character "Uncle Frank" in Little Miss Sunshine was written for Bill Murray, and Robin Williams almost got the part.

33. In the film "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," Carell and his wife Nancy Walls had to film their characters' break-up scene on the exact day of their 17th wedding anniversary.

34. In 2011, Carell earned $17.5 million, making him the 31st highest paid actor (excluding TV-related projects).

35. Steve Carell lives in Los Angeles with his family.

36. Carell played millionaire E.I. du Pont family heir and convicted murderer John Eleuthère du Pont in the 2014 true crime drama film Foxcatcher. Since the film's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, it has received widespread acclaim and Carell's performance has seen him nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama and for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

37. He is 5' 9" (1.75 m) tall.

38. He suffers from hay fever.

39. Steve Carell's net worth is $50 million.

40. In "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," Carell and Steve Buscemi (playing a pair of Las Vegas magicians) have a signature trick that becomes vital to the movie's finale. The trick was actually designed by David Copperfield, who insisted that no camera trickery be involved. So Carell and Buscemi had to actually learn how to perform the trick, and signed non-disclosure agreements promising not to reveal how it was done.