Steve Carell Confesses Office Finale Lie Shock Horror
Our Players
Hello, I'm Steve Carell.
Hello, I'm The Interview Extender.
The Scene
Steve, I certainly appreciate what you must have felt at the time of filming, but I really think everyone in America is probably fine with the fact that you lied to the press about your appearance in the Office finale.
Oh no, oh, spoiler! You just spoiled it for people!
Steve, the episode aired over a month ago. I think people ought to know by now that you were in it.
By and large that's probably true, but you never know! I just feel bad.
Wow, you really are crazy nice.
It's not nice to lie! That's why I feel like I have to talk about it still -- so people know that I know it was wrong.
But you just said you did it for a good reason -- to preserve the "fun surprise" in the episode.
Even if you do a wrong thing for the right reasons, that doesn't negate the fact that it was wrong that I lied. I lied for months to the press.
Yes, you said that.
I lied to fans on the street.
Well, that was for their sake.
I lied to a TSA agent.
Eh, screw those guys.
WHAT?! They're keeping our country safe!
Are they, though? I guess this isn't really the venue to have that discussion.
I lied to a little girl, Kimberly. To a child.
People lie to children all the time, and about much more important stuff than this. Was it YOUR child?
Yes.
Is she a fan?
She wasn't crazy about the last three or four seasons, but yes.
Then I think that's forgivable.
And like I said, above all I just didn't want to make myself or Michael the center of attention in the episode. I already had my sendoff, so the finale was not my time to eclipse anyone else.
Very commendable of you.
I was so happy to be asked to do it, but I agreed on one condition: that I wouldn't be paid.
Well, that seems excessive.
That's just the kind of guy I am.
You're definitely nice. We've established that.
And because I didn't want to pull focus from the actors who stayed on and continued doing such a great show after I left--
[muttering] "Great" might be a strong word.
What was that?
Nothing.
Anyway -- I didn't want to pull focus, so I had asked Greg Daniels to frame all my shots in such a way that viewers wouldn't be able to see my whole face. I'm just not greedy for that kind of attention.
Right.
But then Greg explained that going to lengths like that would actually be counterproductive, and then I felt horrible for even asking.
Of course you did.
I told him, "You should just fire me. What a diva. I don't deserve to be here."
And then did he need to take a lot of time to reassure you?
A few minutes, I guess. ...Oh, I see what you're getting at. I'm a monster!
Steve, you're clearly not a monster, but maybe you're working so hard to be nice that you're actually kind of a pain in the ass?
You're RIGHT. I'll just go. I'm sorry.
You don't have to go, but think about it: not knowing you were going to be on the show because you explicitly denied it made the experience of watching it better for fans, right?
That was definitely the idea.
So why tell me that you "felt terribly" for the producers and the cast (which is not correct, by the way; you felt terrible)--
Oh God.
-- when clearly it was all worth it, and furthermore it happened a month ago and everyone has moved on?
Kimberly...
Yes?
I lied. I didn't feel bad about it at all. Lying is fun. And as an actor, it's actually pretty easy for me.
See? Don't you feel better?
And fuck you for correcting my English.
Now you may go.
Thank you for your time.