Steve Carell on His First Date Ever, Realizing He Can't Dance at a Paul McCartney Concert & Rooster

0:00 Our first guest tonight is an American we cherish.

0:02 He's a terrific actor and you can see that for yourself

0:05 in the season finale of his new series Rooster.

0:08 Watch it Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.

0:11 Please welcome Steve Carell.

0:26 How are you?

0:27 Well,

0:29 it's good to see you.

0:30 GOOD TO SEE YOU.

0:31 I was happy and surprised to see you and your wife

0:33 Nancy at the Paul McCartney concert a few weeks ago.

0:36 Was that amazing?

0:37 It was unbelievable.

0:38 It was so great.

0:39 I love him so much.

0:41 I'd never heard of him before.

0:42 I know.

0:43 And he really killed it.

0:45 Unreal.

0:46 He really was.

0:46 It was like great.

0:48 It's like it made me start thinking maybe I should not eat meat.

0:52 I don't know.

0:53 I don't know how he does it.

0:54 And it's incredible.

0:55 and the the cavalcade of celebrities.

1:00 Yeah, there are a lot of famous people there.

1:02 That was I I look over and there's I I realized something

1:07 at that concert and I I don't go to a lot of concerts.

1:10 Um that was a really special one to go to.

1:13 It was in a small play, a small venue.

1:17 Yeah.

1:16 But I realized I can't dance at concerts.

1:20 I shouldn't do it anymore.

1:22 I looked over and there's Marggo Robbie and Taylor

1:25 Swift and Billy Isish and they're they're dancing.

1:29 It's great.

1:30 And I'm on the other side like, you know,

1:32 that's how I am, too.

1:33 I don't know what to do.

1:36 I I cl I'll clap a little bit.

1:38 You No, you did the right thing.

1:40 What did I do?

1:40 You were your wife danced and you kind of held back a little bit.

1:44 Yeah, that's cuz

1:45 And I look like a complete idiot.

1:47 Yeah.

1:47 Well, I feel like we did, didn't Oh, you were dancing.

1:50 I I tried a little bit.

1:52 I wish now I wish I had observed you during the concert.

1:54 Well, I was trying to do some subtle dancing too like this.

1:57 I was just going

2:00 just trying to stay.

2:01 That's not dancing.

2:02 That's calling your dog.

2:03 I know.

2:06 But I I've lost it.

2:07 I've lost.

2:08 That was a crazy night though.

2:09 It really was like nuts.

2:11 Like you're looking around and there's Ringo at the concert.

2:14 I know.

2:14 And you're like, who what is happening here?

2:17 I'm here with half of the Beatles.

2:19 It's crazy.

2:20 I know.

2:20 It's like a road map of your life.

2:22 It's like in his music,

2:24 every song you can just hearken back

2:27 to something that happened in your childhood.

2:30 It's really It really was moving.

2:31 It is funny too because there's a certain

2:33 like it's kind of divided I think because

2:35 for me I'm 58 so for me the first of course I heard the Beatles when I was

2:40 a little kid but the music that was popular

2:43 was wings with that that was the for me

2:45 the original Paul McCartney and then I had

2:48 to go back and learn about the Beatles.

2:50 Right.

2:50 Well I'm 82 so I'm right there.

2:52 Yeah.

2:52 You look perfect.

2:53 You look really good.

2:55 I I saw them at the uh I I saw them in Liverpool.

2:59 Fantastic.

3:02 What was the first concert you went to?

3:06 Uh, uh, I went, it was the first date I was ever on to.

3:10 Oh, I went to Have you ever heard of Jethro Tull?

3:12 Of course.

3:15 Exactly.

3:15 Medieval rock flute.

3:17 That's right.

3:18 And so my oldest brother, Greg, was a huge Jethro Tull fan.

3:22 And because of that, so was I.

3:24 Of course.

3:25 Whatever Greg listened to.

3:26 All right.

3:27 It's fantastic.

3:28 minstrel in the gallery.

3:30 Thick as a brick.

3:30 I love it.

3:31 Um,

3:32 they are great songs.

3:33 How old are you at this this point?

3:35 It was it was early high school.

3:38 Okay.

3:37 And I asked a girl, her name was Katie Ferspan.

3:41 So cute.

3:42 First date ever.

3:43 I was really nervous and it was a triple date

3:46 with two of my older brothers and we picked her up

3:49 and we went into Boston and saw it was the worst

3:54 experience cuz she wasn't she wasn't a Jethro Tull fan.

3:58 Really?

3:58 You told me.

4:01 And teenage girl wasn't a tall fan.

4:02 I know almost all of the girls I knew in high school were huge Jethro fan.

4:08 Um, but what made it worse is that my brothers kept

4:12 looked like sideeying me the whole time like like little wings.

4:18 Did they had dates with them or it was just

4:20 Yeah, they had their their girlfriends with them and I really had to

4:23 it was I was really under a microscope and it was

4:26 so the worst was walking to walking her to her door

4:30 at the end of the night and I could just

4:33 feel their prying eyes watching to see if anything happened.

4:37 I

4:38 did anything happen?

4:38 I shook her hand.

4:43 It was And that was And that was it.

4:47 That was That was the last date I ever had.

4:49 You're generally uncomfortable with your body is what I'm seeing here, I think.

4:53 Right.

4:54 I Yeah,

4:54 I feel the same way.

4:55 I think so.

4:56 I never really know what to do.

4:57 Do you keep the ticket stubs from all the concerts you go to?

5:00 I do.

5:00 I do.

5:01 Uh I I

5:02 I do too, but there are not as many of them anymore.

5:05 Now it's like on your phone.

5:06 It's all digital, but I did I the last few weeks

5:09 I've been going through bins of memorabilia and old photographs and

5:16 Oh, I think Oh, this I have one of them here.

5:18 Yeah, I I I sent you one that I dug up just

5:22 a couple of days ago and I don't remember ever seeing this.

5:25 Now, this is a photograph of you

5:31 at what age?

5:35 13.

5:34 Why at 13 years old were you a 53y old Greek diner owner of a Greek diner?

5:41 You know, I I dug this

5:45 look older here than you do now.

5:47 I know.

5:50 I know.

5:50 And the the Nagahide couch and the hard side part.

5:54 I mean, you can understand why Katie Hersband didn't want a second date.

5:59 Um,

5:59 you look like son of Sam.

6:02 But it's there's like a weird dysmorphia to it

6:07 because I I I don't I can't believe that's me.

6:12 I can't either.

6:13 You know what I mean?

6:14 Like you don't know what you actually look like

6:17 and then you see pictures and go, "Oh, okay.

6:19 I get it.

6:20 I get it." Well, you really blossomed.

6:23 I'm going to tell you that.

6:25 I think that's I think that's a positive.

6:27 If you don't want to go the other way.

6:29 Did you play an intro in it yourself?

6:31 I did.

6:31 What did you play?

6:32 I played baritone horn.

6:34 Oh, that's perfect.

6:35 So, I had that going for me.

6:37 Oh, wow.

6:38 I played baritone horn.

6:39 Now, most people I was in band, so I know baritone horn.

6:42 I played the clarinet.

6:43 Oh, yeah.

6:44 Oh, yeah.

6:44 Okay.

6:45 We got We're every night.

6:49 Every night that somehow comes up.

6:50 But clarinet the clarinet players were the cool guys.

6:54 Not at my school.

6:57 The baritone horn.

6:58 First of all, that's a real That's

7:00 a loner type instrument cuz there's not a section.

7:03 It's just you, right?

7:04 I've never heard it described that way.

7:06 Your first chair.

7:07 Exactly.

7:07 Right.

7:08 It is.

7:09 It's like because because for for fourth grade,

7:13 the music instructor had a great thing.

7:15 He could play every instrument.

7:17 So, he laid them all out on a stage and he played

7:20 every single one just to show the kids what they all sounded like.

7:24 Yeah.

7:25 And you pick the one that you want to play and we're going to have a band.

7:28 And me and Clint Bejian said, "Baritone horn,

7:33 baby." And everyone else was drums or trumpet or anything.

7:38 Yeah.

7:38 The the instruments that you can like play in public.

7:42 Yeah.

7:43 But baritone horn like there's I can visualize

7:47 the kids who played baritone in our band.

7:49 And you know what?

7:50 THEY LOOK LIKE THIS.

7:52 They all look JUST LIKE THIS.

7:57 SO, SO I I HAD SO, I had

8:00 that baritone horn and I was a Revolutionary War reenactor.

8:07 Oh, so you add those three components.

8:10 Which side were you on?

8:11 Um, I I was actually on both.

8:15 You know what?

8:16 That's very even-handed.

8:17 Yeah.

8:18 You are you know we're you and I are on the we have a a big

8:22 charity show tomorrow night at the Hollywood Bowl the night of too many stars.

8:26 I'm actually playing clarinet.

8:28 Do you still have a baritone horn?

8:30 I do.

8:30 I could use accompaniment.

8:33 Do you?

8:37 This is like a by any chance by any chance do you know anchors away?

8:41 Well, I think there's one song that we're playing as a group

8:45 and there are other your friend John Stewart is part of this.

8:48 Oh, really?

8:49 He's playing the drums.

8:50 I don't want to give too much away, but think about it.

8:54 Think about it.

8:55 Yeah.

8:55 I'll tell you during the Send me the track tonight.

8:59 Steve Carella is here.

9:00 His show is called Ruth.

9:02 We'll be right back.

9:03 Last night I was watching TV and It's

9:05 a Wonderful Life came on and I love the character

9:08 of George Bailey so much that I had to watch it all the way through to the end.

9:13 What's It's It's a Wonderful Life.

9:15 You're kidding me.

9:16 Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.

9:19 Is that like a Christian movie?

9:21 Cuz then No, thank you.

9:22 No, it's not Christian per se.

9:24 It's uh Well, it's a Christmas movie,

9:26 but um so yeah, I guess it's kind of Christian.

9:29 That is Steve Carell in Rooster.

9:31 You can watch on HBO and HBO Max simultaneously if you like.

9:36 This is uh now the really you got like it's a really good

9:40 show and you got a really really good cast that you've put together.

9:43 Yeah.

9:43 I don't know.

9:44 Are you involved in that?

9:46 I know not well sort of a little bit.

9:49 They they would sort of run names by me but um

9:52 Allison Jones uh is casting director and she did an amazing job.

9:56 It's a great ensemble.

9:57 It's really a great group of people.

9:58 It's not about fighting, which I was disappointed

10:00 just a little bit.

10:03 Yeah, it's about a It's about a guy It's about an author uh

10:06 someone sort of akin to Carl Hyas who goes to visit his daughter who

10:10 is a professor at a small liberal arts college and uh one thing leads

10:15 to another and he ends up staying to be a temporary writer in residence

10:20 and he and teacher as well.

10:22 Yeah.

10:22 Have you done any teaching of any kind?

10:24 Um I taught a little bit at Second City.

10:26 Oh, you did?

10:27 Okay.

10:27 All right.

10:28 That's teaching, right?

10:29 Yeah.

10:29 Not really.

10:31 It was teaching improv.

10:33 But

10:33 you uh do people do you find that there are people now,

10:36 maybe they're young, that don't even know you were on the Daily Show?

10:41 I'm sure there are.

10:41 Yeah.

10:43 But you don't encounter that in your in your life.

10:45 I don't get a lot of Daily Show shoutouts.

10:47 You don't anymore, huh?

10:48 Yeah.

10:48 No, you were so good on the Daily Show here.

10:50 Coar and I knew we had made it.

10:52 Thanks.

10:53 When Stephen and I were working on that show together,

10:56 we knew we'd made it when the barista

10:59 at Starbucks wrote our name without us telling.

11:03 Oh, yeah.

11:03 That's big.

11:04 That was like, okay.

11:06 Easy for him, though.

11:06 There's two Steves walk in.

11:08 I mean, how complicated could it be, you know?

11:10 But still, I don't want to take anything away from you.

11:14 Um, so John Stewart is hosting that Night of 100 Stars uh tomorrow.

11:18 Yeah.

11:19 And uh we just dug up we we dug up a clip of you um I think this was

11:24 a segment where you were uh diet it was

11:26 a diet segment a healthy eating segment you know sliming down with Steve

11:30 sliming down with Steve.

11:32 Now take a look at this.

11:36 If you'll notice it says all vegetable right

11:42 couple of scoops of this I get all the vegetables I need.

11:46 I actually think it's it's it's it's shortening, vegetable shortening.

11:49 So, it doesn't it serves up just like ice cream.

12:08 All right.

12:09 I have a question for you about that.

12:11 Yeah.

12:11 Was that Krisco?

12:13 Oh, yeah.

12:13 It was.

12:14 That's what I thought it was.

12:15 Yeah.

12:15 You could just tell, right?

12:18 That's why I did it because I really wanted to gross out John.

12:23 They said you could we could mock up uh vanilla

12:25 frosting to make it it would look exactly the same, but I thought no, it

12:30 it would though.

12:30 There's a slipperiness there that you cannot duplicate.

12:33 There is a slipperiness days later.

12:38 Oh, there is.

12:38 Yeah.

12:39 Really?

12:40 Oh, yeah.

12:41 The lubricant.

12:42 Yeah.

12:44 I'm It's odd moan from the inside, too.

12:49 That's GMO.

12:49 He's just hungry.

12:52 Um, yeah.

12:53 Well, let's do this tomorrow night.

12:54 We'll get our horns.

12:55 We'll Crisco ourselves up.

13:00 We'll go out there and we'll, you know, one for the band geeks, you know.

13:03 Steve Carell, everybody watch his show, the season finale of Rooster,

13:08 Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max.

13:11 Thank you, Steve.

13:12 We'll be back with Mike Tyson.