Everything You Need To Know About Parenting In 10 Steve Carell Quotes

When you used to watch Steve Carell on the The Daily Show, you probably thought, “I like that guy, he’s funny.” Then The Office, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Anchorman, and most recently The Big Short happened and you were like, “Hey, didn’t that guy used to be on the Daily Show?”

Then a third event happened — you had kids. So the past few years you’ve seen less of Brick Tamlan and more super villain Gru from Despicable Me. Oh, Brick. Sweet, sweet Brick. But, the real Steve Carell isn’t like any of those characters. He’s sincere, has a strong marriage to a hilarious woman, and a good dad to 2 kids. Here is the collected wisdom from a man who once had his chest carpet waxed in the name of comedy.

On Fitting In

“Like most people, I have painful memories of trying to fit in as a child. I wore, said, and did pretty much what everyone else did.”

On Early Childhood Education

“Children are very smart, in their own stupid way. A child’s brain is like a sponge, and you know how smart sponges are.”

On Loving Your Kids Too Much

“You’re so in love with your children that you’d do anything for them; that’s not necessarily the best thing.”

On The Value Of Celebrity

“One night [my son] was in bed and was asking me about it, like ‘What is this thing?’ I said they commemorate your career and give you a star on the sidewalk. and it’s kind of a big deal for me. He leaned in and whispered, ‘How long is this going to take?’”

On Sacrificing Your Mornings

“My dad would wake up 5 AM and drive me to hockey practice before school and sit there reading a book while I practiced. I learned a lot about raising children from them, because they were committed to their kids, they would do anything to expand our horizons.”

On The Old Bait And Switch

“We try to present a unified front as parents. The toughest thing is that they will play one of you against the other. Kids are very cagey. They’ll ask, ‘May I have a cupcake?’ ‘No, we’re having dinner in 45 minutes.’ And then they go to the other parent … there’s been no communication between us; the other parent says, ‘Sure, that’s fine.’ So the key is to have that communication.”

On Better Acting Through Fathering

“I’ll never forget the first audition after my daughter was born. I nailed it because I didn’t care any more. All I wanted to do was get home to my baby and it changed my perspective on my career and on the world, on who I was.”

On Spoiling His Kids

“You’re doing your kids a disservice if they do get everything they want because that’s not the way life’s going to go and I think kids have to have some reality. My children don’t expect to get everything and I think our greatest achievement so far is that they respect us and listen to us. I don’t see that in all of their friends.”

On His Best Advice To New Dad, Ryan Gosling

“The best advice to give a new parent is that there is no advice, it’s going to be different for every parent out there.’

On Being Cool In The Eyes Of His Kids

“As soon as you start to try to converse with them about the music they like, or dance the way they’re dancing, you’re immediately not cool at all. Just as long as you’re a dad, I think that’s the coolest thing.”