Last Updated on September 6, 2024
Steve Carell is known for portraying comedic roles that have viewers in stitches. Laughter is a great distraction, so if you need some humor after a hard day, then do yourself a favor and disappear into one of Steve Carell’s best movies. If you appreciate something a little more serious, don’t worry because we’ve added a couple of Carell’s best dramatic roles as well!
1. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Andy Stitzer is such a clumsy lover that by the age of 40, he is still a virgin. He has given up on having sex but when his friends discover his secret, the news soon travels throughout his workplace and it attracts embarrassing advice from colleagues as well as unwanted advances from his female boss.
After enduring several mishaps caused by his friends who insist on trying to “help” him, Andy meets a woman called Trish and they agree to go on twenty dates before they sleep together. But Andy has to overcome his insecurities and his bumbling friends to realize that he has to romance Trish in his own way.
2. Anchorman (2004)
Ron Burgundy is a popular anchorman for the San Diego television station KVWN Channel 4. His supremacy is challenged by the arrival of Veronica Corningstone who receives higher ratings than Burgundy after she stands in for him one morning. They become co-anchors and fierce rivals that eventually leads to Burgundy being fired.
Veronica regrets her prank that caused Burgundy’s downfall but it takes a life-threatening panda situation to bring the news team back together again.
3. Beautiful Boy (2018)
David Sheff is a writer for the New York Times with a happy life until he begins to notice the signs of drug abuse in his teenage son Nic. After two stints at a rehab facility, David is confident that his son is clean and ready to go off to college.
Although this movie takes on a more serious tone than what Carell fans are used to, Steve gives a spellbinding performance as the father of a family in crisis, learning how to deal with the reality of the destructive habits, lies and the desperation that comes with drug abuse.
4. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
The Hoover family has issues. Mother Sheryl is overworked, her brother (Carell) is depressed, her son has taken a vow of silence and her elderly father-in-law is snorting heroin. But when the youngest member of the family, Olive, qualifies for the “Little Miss Sunshine” beauty pageant, the family decides to take a road trip together from Albuquerque, New Mexico to California.
During the 800-mile drive, family tensions and their rickety van create plenty of problems for the Hoovers but along the way, and during Olive’s shocking pageant performance, they learn that family must stick together.
5. Foxcatcher (2014)
Based on a true story, Carell gives a magnificent performance as John du Pont, the wealthy owner of Team Foxcatcher, a group of wrestlers training for the 1988 Summer Olympics. Du Pont is obsessed with adding brothers Mark and Dave to his team and he eventually succeeds.
The brothers get everything they desire; the best training, luxury accommodation and a shot at the Olympic gold. But as John’s mental state spirals into paranoia and anger, he estranges his wrestlers. When Dave is asked to compliment John and he gives a lacklustre response, things take a murderous turn.
6. Crazy, Stupid Love (2011)
Cal Weaver gets drunk at a bar where he loudly bemoans the divorce his wife, Emily, requested after she had an affair. He meets womanizer Jacob Palmer who gives him tips on how to meet women. After a string of successful hookups, Cal is happy to go home when he and Emily realize that they want to get back together again.
But things are complicated by Cal’s recent dates, their babysitter’s penchant for nude photographs and the discovery that Jacob is dating their oldest daughter.
7. The Big Short (2015)
In this star-studded movie, Steve Carell joins actors like Brad Pitt and Christian Bale to bring to life the true story of a group of traders who spotted the opportunity of a lifetime to join the super-rich.
Based on the 2007 US housing market crash, the movie follows the unbelievable events sparked by trader Michael Burry, who predicted the collapse before anyone had an inkling. Several others join him to profit off the coming disaster, a decision that could have dire consequences for the public.
8. Last Flag Flying (2017)
In this semi-humorous story, three Vietnam veterans get together one more time. One of them, Larry “Doc” Shepherd (Carell), has just lost his only son in Iraq and wants his friends to go with him to collect the body.
The reunion turns into a painful journey that dredges up old war experiences, regrets over the mistakes they had made as young soldiers, and the bereavement of losing a child. Doc and his friends also learn that the military is lying about how soldiers were killed abroad and it disillusions them even more. But the time they spend together also becomes an unexpected opportunity to close the darkest chapter of their past.
9. The Way, Way Back (2013)
Teenager Duncan is not having a good time. He’s on summer vacation with his mother, her emotionally abusive boyfriend Trent (Carell) and Trent’s spoiled daughter. The only bright spark is the neighbors living next door at their beach house, especially their beautiful and kind daughter Susanna.
While Trent continues to break him down, Duncan finds solace with a quirky water park employee called Owen who teaches him, with fun and humor, to go his own way in life.
10. Vice (2018)
Another spellbinding true story, Vice follows the rise of Dick Cheney from an aimless alcoholic to one of the most powerful political influencers in the world.
In 1968, Cheney joins the White House staff as an intern during the Nixon Administration. He soon realizes the true power of the executive office and that he has a talent for climbing the political ladder. Cheney’s career is filled with health problems, family strife, history-changing achievements and decisions that would cost countless people their lives.
