Television: The New Office Guy

Steve Carell works hard, has a serious attitude and an officious air. Go ahead and laugh at him

The trick to creating a good comic persona is to find a new way to be unaware. Steve Carell has landed on just such a type: a confident, articulate buffoon who has no idea he's messing things up--Ted Knight without the bubbling insecurity, Will Ferrell without the boyish need to please. With his serious, Father Knows Best demeanor, Carell maintains self-assurance in the face of obvious failure; he's a pompous but lovable loser. "I myself am a lovable loser. So it's an easy transition," Carell says while sitting in the trailer for his upcoming movie, The 40-Year-Old Virgin. "I'm more loser...

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