Steve Carell Talks Foray into Drama

Actor and comedian Steve Carell may be well known for his comedic characters, but he spoke of far more somber subjects on his recent trip to Boston. Carell, who hails from the local suburb of Concord, Massachusetts, made a red-carpet appearance at the AMC Loews Boston Common screening of his new film, “Beautiful Boy,” on Oct. 18. The film, which was released on Oct. 12, traces the duo-narrative of father David Sheff (Steve Carell) and son Nic Sheff (Timothée Chalamet) as Nic battles a methamphetamine addiction. The two perspectives are based upon memoirs written by Nic Sheff and David Sheff, a contributor to The New York Times.

Meth, which Carell called an “insidious” drug, has seen a rise in recent years. The New York Times published a feature on it this past February, titled “Meth, the Forgotten Killer, is Back.” In 2014, over 3,700 people died from methamphetamine overdose — more than doubling the number from 2010 — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Carell touched upon the film’s nod to the opioid epidemic at his carpet appearance.

“It's terrifying to see what's happening across the country,” Carell said. “I think even in a small way, a film like this can get some awareness out there.”

Even though humor wasn’t his character’s focal point of the film, Carell said it wasn’t all “doom and gloom,” either. This is also not Carell’s first time diving into a serious character. In 2015, Carell pulled off a complex John E. Du Pont in the sports drama, “Foxcatcher,” earning him an Academy Award nomination.

“There was never any inclination on my part to be funny per se,” Carell said. “But there's also humor and joy even within the darkest moments, so I think we look for those little moments too.”

Although his classic humorous side was missing from the film, Carell said he related to Sheff’s character from a parenting perspective. For Carell, who himself is a parent with two kids — Elisabeth, 17, and John, 14 — he admits how hard it is to imagine Sheff seeing his own son go down the path of addiction. He said that from the moment he had kids, he’s been terrified of “something bad” happening to them, calling it a “parent’s worst nightmare” to see their children in pain.

“To imagine what David Sheff was going through when his son was spiraling out of control with the methamphetamine addiction — it's hard to wrap my head around,” Carell said. “It's hard to comprehend how bad that must've been for him.”

As for his acting relationship with Chalamet, Carell said they worked hard to foster the lived-in father-son relationship of the story. The two actors spent two to three weeks together getting to know each other and rehearsing before filming actually started.

“I think it's important to always feel like there's a bit of a history with the person you're acting with and a comfort level,” Carell said. “We wanted that relationship to feel lived-in, you know, that we had been father and son for all of these years and that we had gone through a lot together before you even see the movie start.”

—Staff writer Lucy Wang can be reached at lucy.wang@thecrimson.com.