Steve Carell opened up about the deeply personal moment on the set of his new HBO series Rooster when he accidentally called his character’s daughter by his real daughter’s name, and how fatherhood shaped everything about the role.
Talk to The Officialthe 63-year-old actor revealed he hired his daughter Annie, 24, as a production assistant on the series.
During one moving scene, the line between fiction and reality blurred in the most unexpected way possible.
“I actually got her a job as a production assistant on the show, and while filming a scene, I accidentally said, ‘I’d do anything for Annie,’ instead of saying my character’s daughter’s name,” he recalls.
“There was this big ‘aww’ moment, but it really stuck with me. Because I was thinking of my daughter when I said that sentence.”
This speaks to something Carell clearly feels with real conviction.
“Raising children is my favorite part of my life,” he said. “Not even a close second, it’s the most satisfying thing I’ve done.”
He shares Annie and her son John, 21, with his wife Nancy Walls.
For someone who has one of the most recognizable faces in comedy, Carell has gone to great lengths to keep her children out of the spotlight throughout their lives.
He’s only brought them to a handful of red carpet events and rarely discusses them in interviews.
His reasoning is simple.
“It’s always just been a job,” he said of his career. “I tried not to let it define me too much. But most importantly, I didn’t want it to be weird for my kids.”
Annie and John made a rare joint appearance on the red carpet alongside their father at the Minions: The Rise of Gru premiering in July 2022, a franchise that accompanied much of their childhood, given that Carell voices the main character Gru.
