The Office Left Steve Carell With One Bad Acting Habit He Does In Every Movie

The Office left Steve Carell with one bad acting habit. For seven seasons, Carell played the role of the lovably obnoxious Dunder Mifflin regional manager Michael Scott before leaving the show, though he did return for an emotional cameo during the series finale. Filmed in mockumentary style, The Office often sees characters stealing glances at the camera, most famously Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), and also uses the “talking head” technique in which characters look directly into the camera and share their private thoughts or feelings.

During a recent appearance on the Office Ladies podcast hosted by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, Carell admitted that after leaving The Office it was difficult for him to break the habit of looking at the camera, which he’s accidentally done on every project since.

Carell’s co-stars Fischer and Kinsey agreed, admitting they have been guilty of the same. Read what they shared below:

Carell: I have never had a job where I didn’t look into the camera at some point. At least once. I’m sure on Foxcatcher I like looked into the camera and [then told myself], “Nope. You cannot comment on what you just did.”

Fischer: Same! I can’t not make the camera a character now. It’s such a habit.

Kinsey: I actually had a director say, “Uh, Angela, you just looked right down the barrel.”

Related: 8 Times Michael Scott Proved He Was Actually A Good Boss

Steve Carell’s Best Roles Since The Office

Even though the mockumentary sitcom left him with one bad acting habit, Carell has had a few great roles since leaving The Office, including one that he mentions above. In 2014, Carell took an uncharacteristically dramatic turn as the real-life millionaire and wrestling enthusiast John du Pont in the film Foxcatcher and received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. After receiving a total of six Emmy nominations for playing Michael Scott, Carell quickly found another Emmy-nominated role in Apple TV’s The Morning Show as Mitch Kessler, a disgraced morning show co-anchor.

In Adam McKay’s Oscar-winning film The Big Short, Carell got to flex both his comedic and dramatic chops as the hedge fund manager Mark Baum who is in a state of constant disgust with the American banks, arguably his best performance since The Office. Carell most recently starred in FX on Hulu’s miniseries The Patient and has roles in Krasinski’s Imaginary Friends and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City coming up. Hopefully, Carell’s career continues to thrive after The Office.

More: The Office Deleted Scene Reveals Michael Scott’s Job After Dunder Mifflin

Source: Office Ladies