How Steve Carell Met Taylor Swift: “Just Had a Nice First Impression”

Steve Carell is a Swiftie extraordinaire!

The actor-comedian revealed this week he met the global superstar early on in both of their careers, when they both appeared on MTV’s TRL.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

“We were both on TRL at the same time,” Carell said during Monday’s appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

“I met her, sort of in passing, and I thought, ‘She seems special,’ like even back then,” Carell continued. “Very sweet, very nice. Just had a really nice first impression.”

Years later, The Office star continued, he saw a video of Swift playing the guitar for a hospital patient.

“Some kid who was recovering from something,” Carell said. “There was no big crew. It was like a really low-key, handheld thing that she sort of just did on the sly.”

He added that he thought “that’s so cool and not publicized. Just leading with her heart.” From then on, he concluded, “I thought, ‘Okay, I’m a fan,’ I am going to root for that person.”

Carell joins a long list of celebrities to have lauded Swift in recent weeks. Most recently, the singer’s longtime friend Lana Del Rey chimed in with her thoughts as to why Swift is such a phenomenon.

“She wants it,” the Born to Die singer told BBC News. “She’s told me so many times that she wants it more than anyone. And how amazing — she’s getting exactly what she wants. She’s driven, and I think it’s really paid off.”

Best of The Hollywood Reporter