10 Times Steve Carell Proved He's Our Best Onscreen Villain

    Foxcatcher is Steve's only Oscar nomination and most lauded performance to date, AND it is his most villainous performance. Coincidence? I THINK NOT.

    Matthew Huff
    by Matthew Huff

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Steve Carell. Actor. Funnyman. Star of the screen, big and small. We know him. We love him. We want some more of him.

    NBC / Via giphy.com

    I mean, come on. Look at those dance moves. 

    Except, what if I were to tell you that Steve was not meant to be a comedic male lead? What if I told you he was actually much better at playing villains?

    NBC / Via giphy.com

    I'm not joking. 

    I am here to show you that Steve is most in his element when he's playing horrible people. He's been slowly edging into more and more nefarious roles for years, and that is where he shines. Just look at his character in The Morning Show, now airing Season 2.

    AppleTV+ / Via giphy.com

    The old Steve Carell can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, because he's dead. And the megalomaniacal supervillain is here to take his place.  

    Without further ado, the evolution of Steve Carell from funny guy to horrible human, and why he should stick to the dark side.

    NBC / Via giphy.com

    You may not be happy about this, but I'm right (and so is Steve for taking these roles).

    Let's examine his filmography, shall we?

    1. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) — Brick Tamland

    Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell, David Koechner, and Steve Carell get ready for a street fight
    DreamWorks / Courtesy Everett Collection

    As early as Anchorman, Steve was beginning to play with his ability to be unlikable onscreen. Prior to his breakout role here, he was predominantly known for his work on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. With Anchorman, however, Steve stole scene after scene as the doddering idiot weatherman Brick Tamland. And while his predominant trait here (and one we see over and over in Steve's early career) is his stupidity, the character is laced with a darker, entitled, boy's club energy that complicates the role and makes it stand out. Sure, he might be bumbling, but it's in a hateable way.  

    Rent it on Amazon Prime Video. 

    2. The Office (2005–13) — Michael Scott

    Steve Carell stands in front of Rainn Wilson and a gift basket in the office
    Ron Tom / NBC / Courtesy Everett Collection

    Of course, Steve's most notable work to date is his lead role as Michael Scott on the NBC sitcom. And while he is not strictly a villain by definition here, he is again steering hard into unlikability. As the office manager of Dunder Mifflin, he's more adept than he is in Anchorman (but only slightly), and the egotism is ratcheted up to 11. Steve has a wonderful gift for playing characters who think they are all-knowing bearers of wisdom and light, while they actually stumble around in the dark tripping anyone who crosses their path. Michael is incredibly bad at his job, spends most of his time interrupting his coworkers, throws colleagues under the bus for his mistakes, and is (sometimes vaguely and sometimes forthrightly) racist, sexist, and homophobic. The fact that Steve can take such a character and make him so watchable is a testament to his immense talent for playing unlikable people. 

    Watch it on Peacock. 

    3. Despicable Me (2010) — Gru

    Gru in a ninja pose on top of a security wall
    Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

    While on The Office, Steve scoops up a handful of roles that predominantly let him lead into either ineptitude (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Get Smart, Dinner for Schmucks) or a sort of withered melancholy (Little Miss Sunshine, Dan in Real Life), I think in part because he was spending so much time playing the morally questionable Michael Scott. It's not until 2010 that he takes another villain role in this animated juggernaut. Granted, he is playing a supervillain by occupation who gets in touch with his compassionate side after adopting three girls, but a villain nonetheless. The fact that Gru, who is so rude it's comical, became one of Steve's biggest moneymakers and launched a franchise speaks again to how naturally he fits into these antagonist roles. Steve is trying many different things during this Office era of his career, and the three roles with the most staying power (Anchorman, The Office, Despicable Me) are not the ones in which he's playing the hero. 

    Watch it on Peacock. 

    4. Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) — Cal Weaver

    Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling sit at a bar together
    Ben Glass / Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    Some may question whether Steve's Cal in Crazy, Stupid, Love is a villain, but having rewatched this film recently, I will say that it has aged so incredibly poorly that nearly everyone in it is a villain. The whole thing is cringey from top to bottom. Cal, who is going through a divorce, decides to get lessons in womanizing from Ryan Gosling's smarmy Jacob. Cal then dates Marisa Tomei's Kate with rude abandon. He's got a slightly creepy relationship with his son's babysitter (who has an even creepier relationship with Cal's son). And whatever half-assed redemption there is for anyone at the end does not fully address the scope of sexism on display. But again, Steve masterfully plays this character of a middle-aged, entitled, straight white man, whose patheticness masks something more sinister. Steve has been cast here as the hero and yet somehow manages to make the role a secret villain. 

    Rent it on Amazon Prime Video. 

    5. The Way, Way Back (2013) — Trent

    Toni Collette and Steve Carell smile at a dinner table
    Claire Folger / Fox Searchlight Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    It is not until this spectacular family comedy in 2013, however, that Steve takes a role that is a pure villain front to back. He plays Trent, the new boyfriend of Pam (the immaculate Toni Collette), who is the mother of Duncan (Liam James), the film's slightly awkward, 14-year-old protagonist. Steve was cast "against type" here, as he initially seems to be a charming addition to the family vacation before it is revealed that he is emotionally and verbally abusing Duncan while cheating on Pam. Steve makes Trent so believable and vile at the same time. In every scene, you can see how this man's charisma is capable of duping others into liking him while hiding his true intentions. Secretly one of Steve's best performances, and I think a role that unlocked his ability to play a straight villain, which he does with more and more frequency as his career continues. 

    Watch it on HBO Max. 

    6. Foxcatcher (2014) — John du Pont

    Steve Carell coaches Channing Tatum in wrestling
    Scott Garfield / Sony Pictures Classics / Courtesy Everett Collection

    Only one year later, Steve returns to the big screen in perhaps his most reprehensible role to date, that of multimillionaire wrestling enthusiast John du Pont. With a complete change in his affect (as well as a prosthetic nose), Steve inhabits this brittle, insecure man of privilege on a downward spiral of paranoid jealousy. To date, this is Steve's lone Oscar nomination and most lauded performance, AND it is his most villainous performance. Is this a coincidence? I THINK NOT. Steve was born to play the villain. And when he tries to steer himself into a more likable role (like in Hope Springs or Seeking a Friend at the End of the World), he just doesn't shine in quite the same way. 

    Rent it on Amazon Prime Video. 

    7. Cafe Society (2016) — Phil

    Steve Carell makes a phone call from a terrace
    Lionsgate / Courtesy Everett Collection

    Here, Steve landed the classic Woody Allen–protagonist role of skeezy older man having an affair with a MUCH younger woman (and in this case his secretary, which is especially gross). Really, this isn't a great movie and is cookie-cutter late-stage Woody Allen, BUT Steve does give another solid performance as a charming, privileged man of ill repute. Another line item on the résumé of Steve Carell: villain extraordinaire. 

    Watch it on Amazon Prime Video. 

    8. Battle of the Sexes (2017) — Bobby Riggs

    Emma Stone and Steve Carell cross tennis rackets at a press conference
    Melinda Sue Gordon / Fox Searchlight / Courtesy Everett Collection

    One year later (and after more turns as Gru in the Despicable Me franchise), Steve is back with yet another buzzy, award-garnering role as a film's antagonist. This time he is playing tennis pro Bobby Riggs, famous for his cavalier sexism and determination to beat tennis legend and LGBTQ icon Billie Jean King in an exhibition match entitled the Battle of the Sexes. Steve STEALS THE SHOW here (and that's not an easy feat with Oscar winner Emma Stone sitting across from you). This is the perfect use of Steve's comedic charm and prowess to push forward a villainous role (and here, he manages the more impressive move of making the character one you can root for). Steve is yukking it up at press conferences, huffing around the court, and generally acting unsavorily, and I can't take my eyes off of him. 

    I think this is also a good moment to touch on his more recent dramatic roles in which he has played the good guy, namely Last Flag Flying, Beautiful Boy, and Welcome to Marwen. While Steve is an accomplished actor and certainly gives solid performances in all three movies, they failed to connect in the same way as Foxcatcher or Battle of the Sexes did. I believe that is because his extra spark, his wow factor, his pizzazz, lights up when he's the bad guy. He just can't help it. 

    Rent it on Amazon Prime Video. 

    9. Vice (2018) — Donald Rumsfeld

    Steve Carell sits in a chair with his hands folded
    Matt Kennedy / Annapurna Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    Adam McKay seemed dialed in on exactly what Steve's strengths are in casting him as Donald Rumsfeld, President George W. Bush's secretary of defense. The longtime politician and Washington insider was known for his jesterlike artifice, masking potentially dangerous political stances and ethically dubious choices. Steve, a master at the I-seem-nice-but-am-actually-horrible character, pops into the film for only a few scenes, but his portrayal is one of the most realistic and memorable in a sea of goofy cameos.  

    Watch it on Hulu. 

    10. The Morning Show (2019–Present) — Mitch Kessler

    Steve Carell and Jennifer Aniston sit together on the Morning Show's desk
    Apple TV+/Courtesy Everett Collection

    SPOILER ALERT FOR SEASON 2 OF THE MORNING SHOW.

    And finally we arrive at Steve's most recent work (Season 2 of The Morning Show is currently airing). His return to television is as the Matt Lauer stand-in Mitch Kessler, a popular morning show anchor, toppled from fame when multiple allegations of workplace sexual harassment break out. Steve is masterly as the flailing man of privilege desperate to keep his throne while his world dissolves around him. His delivery of truly disgusting dialogue makes your skin crawl, and his attempts to charm that turn into temper tantrums are mesmerizing. Perhaps the best examples of Steve's work here, however, are in the flashbacks, where we get to see how he used his charisma to perpetuate his crimes, how he tap-danced his way through a birthday celebration and then used a terrorist attack to seduce a coworker. In Season 2, Mitch is trying to rehab his image, and as a result, Steve and his plotlines are losing steam. So much so that the writers sent him in a car over a cliff in the most recent episode! (Is he dead? Probably but, we'll have to wait to know for sure.) 

    Steve Carell is an amazing actor. He is funny and charming. But his best work is not when that humor and sparkle are used to create a golden hero; it's when he puts those skills to work as the villain. Steve is one of the best actors we have for playing evil. I know it. He knows it. And now you do too. So here's to Steve and his many wicked acts to come. 

    Watch it on Apple TV+. 

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