Yahoo News Steve Carell was told The 40-Year-Old Virgin would flop
Steve Carell might not have become one of the world's biggest comedy stars if he'd listened to his friends' concerns about The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
The Judd Apatow comedy, along with a starring rule in the US Office, were both career-defining moments for Carell within the same year, but little did we know how close The 40-Year-Old Virgin came to being shelved.
During his appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday night (June 23), Carell looked back on the resistance the movie faced from film studio Universal Pictures and from people in his own life.
"Nobody got it – you could see people rolling their eyes when I told them what I was doing," he remembered.
"Even the studio didn't like it. They had been watching the daily footage and wanted to shut us down during the first week because they said I looked like an insane serial killer!"
Moviegoers disagreed, turning the modestly-budgeted 40-Year-Old Virgin into a massive box office success with more than $177 million in ticket sales.
The 40-Year-Old Virgin also established Carell as a bankable Hollywood lead, with the actor even having gone on to earn an Academy Award nomination for Foxcatcher.
(Kristen Wiig and Steve Carell on The Graham Norton Show)
Next up for Carell is Despicable Me 3, which opens in US and UK cinemas on Friday, June 30.
Meanwhile, The Graham Norton Show continues next Friday at 10.35pm on BBC One with a special highlights compilation.
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