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Steve Carell is best known for his comedic roles such as inAnchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin,andThe Office. However, he played against type with the 2014 filmFoxcatcher, where he portrayed a millionaire murderer John du Pont. The actor received a nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his performance.
While playing du Pont was miles away from the characters he usually undertakes, Carell said that he stayed away from conversations about method acting for the role. Though there was a lot of preparation involved in playing the part, Carell said that he generally followed director Bennett Miller’s instructions and vision.
Steve Carell stayed away from the ‘method’ conversation duringFoxcatcher
Steve Carellplayed the role of millionaire John du Pont in Bennett Miller’s biographical filmFoxcatcher. The film followed du Pont’s infamous murder case where he shot and killed professional wrestler and coach Dave Schultz. The millionaire was reportedly believed to be mentally ill and was found guilty of third-degree murder and was sent to prison.
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Carell’s performance as the killer-cum-eccentric millionaire garnered a lot of critical praise. The performance was a noteddeparture from the actor’s usual comedic roleslikeThe OfficeandDate Night. He was compared to the likes of Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler, comedic actors who did venture into serious roles at times.
Carell said that he did not go method with his process. He mentioned that people treated him differently when he was in makeup and that it helped him give a better performance. However, he still denies it being method acting. He said toThe Guardian,
I’m so hesitant to talk about that because it sounds so pretentious. To be honest, it comes from the director. Bennett set a tone that the film wasn’t going to be glib.
However, Carell mentioned that Dave Schulz’s brother Mark Schulz, and his wife Nancy were present during filming, and that helped them play their characters more realistically and with weight.
Steve Carell praised director Bennett Miller for keepingFoxcatcher’s tone grounded
There have been several rumors about millionaire John du Pont’s real personality and eccentricities. The ornithologist, conchologist, and professional wrestling enthusiast has often been theorized to be mentally ill, with the killing too being attributed to his illness. There were also reported rumors of eccentricities.
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However, Steve Carell’s performance inFoxcatcherremains understated and he largely credits it to director Bennett Miller. Miller is known for directing films likeMoneyballandCapote. Carell said that they had even filmed a scene where du Point shot a gun at imaginary enemies but the eccentric scene ended up on the cutting floor,
It wasn’t Bennett’s agenda. It’s such a spare kind of movie. As a director, there’s nothing extraneous there. It’s very clean, very quiet. That was the approach to Du Pont as well, to reveal bits and pieces of him, and not reveal too much.
He said that the reason for such a direction to be taken was due to du Pont’s own eccentricities being too hard to accept for an audience.
Foxcatcheris available to rent on Apple TV.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2417
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
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Steve Carell
