10 Questions for Steve Carell

By Tiffany Sharples

How obligated did you feel to stay true to the original Get Smart series, and how much did you modernize the character? Heather Boyle, HAMILTON, N.J.

It was daunting. I felt that the best way to pay tribute to Don Adams and the show would be to keep from doing an impersonation or a knockoff. They did it, and they did it so well, there's no reason to just duplicate it. We try to take the essence of the show and reinterpret it in a modern context.

You often play characters that are so awkward, they make people uncomfortable. Do you ever make yourself uncomfortable? Carrie Coward Bucher TONGANOXIE, KANS.

I make myself uncomfortable minute to minute. [Laughs.] Honestly, I don't necessarily make myself uncomfortable, but I do enjoy that vein of comedy. I like it when things are pushed just a little too far.

How is your character from The Office, Michael Scott, different from Ricky Gervais' David Brent [in the original U.K. version]? Adrian Kung PASADENA, CALIF.

I didn't watch too much David Brent because I didn't want to be inclined to do an impersonation of Ricky Gervais. But I can tell you how they are alike better than how they are different: they both don't have a great deal of self-awareness and go through life with a bit of an emotional blind spot.

Are any of Michael Scott's quirks inspired by your own? Chris Cox, RESTON, VA.

I'm sure there are elements of Michael Scott that are a part of me. I would rather not know exactly what they are. One thing people often say is that if you don't know a Michael Scott, then you are Michael Scott. Food for thought.

If you didn't pursue acting, what would you be doing? Andre Rosario EGG HARBOR, N.J.

I would teach history and coach a couple of sports. I think that would make me very, very happy. That's always been my backup plan.

Are you ever intimidated by the performance level that is expected of you? Ryan Timothy, PHOENIX

Not until that question. I didn't realize that there was a performance level expected of me until right this instant. So, yes, from here on out, I'm a bit petrified. I will now become a teacher for sure.

Does your wife [actress Nancy Walls] think you're funny? Jonathan Butler GREENSBORO, KANS.

She does. I get her sense of humor, I think, better than anybody else, and she gets mine better than anybody else. She is the smartest, funniest person I've ever met. I always look to her as a barometer of whether it's good or not.

Do you support Barack Obama or John McCain? Rodrigo Carlon, MADRID

I'll be voting for Ron Paul, come hell or high water. [Laughs.] Not really. I stay clear of declaring my political choices. I feel like my voice is no more valuable, no less valuable than anyone else's.

Given your success with comedic roles, what drives you to do more serious characters? Is this to avoid being typecast? Kevin DeLury, SAN FRANCISCO

I try not to do things based on how I think they will make people perceive me. I don't want to be too precious about any specific role; I just want to have fun. Otherwise, what's the point?

Would you ever get your body hair waxed again for a role? Terry Owings, AUCKLAND

That, I would have to give serious thought to. Having that done for 40-Year-Old Virgin was one of the most painful things I've ever experienced. I tend not to get roles that call for me walking around bare-chested, so I doubt that that will be demanded. But, I suppose, anything for the art.

Podcast at Time.com To listen to the interview with Steve Carell and to subscribe to the 10 Questions podcast on iTunes, go to time.com/10questions

Online only: extra questions

On a self-awareness scale of 1-10, where would you rank your character from [ITALIC {The Office}], Michael Scott? --Ankur Pandya in CAMBRIDGE, MA 0.7. Every now and then he spikes up to about a 4 or a 4.5, but if he were to gain any more self-awareness than he has I believe his head would explode. Once he had the realization as to how other people view him, that would be incredibly difficult.

Did you find it difficult to play a character and be in a series that was already a huge hit in the UK without being compared to that original series? --Mike Payne, OKLAHOMA CITY It's very daunting. The bar was set so high with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant that we tried to take some of the pressure off of ourselves; we knew the template was great but we had no delusions of trying to improve upon the original. We tried to lower everybody's expectations, frankly, tried to set the bar within reason, because there was no way I was going to recreate anything close to what Ricky Gervais did. So I tried to take that pressure off of myself, and just base [Michael Scott] on the essence of the character that [Gervais] created and do the best that I could within those parameters.

With everything going on in current events, do you sometimes wish you were still working for [ITALIC {The Daily Show}]? --Rachel Hamilton, PARIS, IL I do, especially now with the conventions coming up and knowing the kind of fun that they're going to have when they get out there in the field. I miss it, and I miss the people. I miss Jon [Stewart] a lot, I miss Stephen [Colbert] a lot. They're good friends of mine. I envy that, but at this point, I am so far out of the loop in terms of my political acumen. I have such a cursory knowledge of [politics] right now, that I think I would be worthless.

Of all of your movies, which was your favorite character to play? --Alex Saenz, Tipton, Iowa Brick Tamland [from Anchorman] was pretty fun. I just laughed until I cried every day on that movie. And I didn't have to do very much. I just kind of stood there in the background, and Adam McKay, who directed Anchorman, would instruct me to just say whatever I wanted to say, to find an opening and say something--usually a non sequitur of some sort. It could not have been more fun. To play a person who was completely disconnected with reality was just a good, fun time.

Who are your favorite contemporary comedians? --Pedro Serra, RIO DE JANEIRO It depends on what you define as contemporary. I am a huge fan of Alan Arkin. I think he is such a great actor and such a funny person, and so dry and so smart. In terms of people who are my age and my generation, wow, there are so many. Jim Carrey is a brilliant physical comedian and also has a great handle on more dramatic roles. I've enjoyed Ben Stiller in a ton of things. Sacha Baron Cohen, I think, is amazing, the way he disappears into the character. Seth Rogen is one of the funniest people I've ever met. There are a lot of them. Tina Fey is one of the other funniest people that I know. I knew her a little bit back when I worked at Second City--she was a couple of years behind me--I think she is really gifted. And, Dave Chappelle, I'm sorry that his show isn't on. I hope that he creates something new, because we need him.

With raunchy comedies becoming the latest Hollywood trend in the last couple of years, do you believe comedic cinema is regressing? --Sara Nguyen in HARRISBURG, PA I think it's all cyclical. I think things having to do with comedy just change, and it's so subjective. What makes one person laugh will definitely not make another laugh, and I don't think there's any one universally funny thing. That's why there are so many different veins of comedy. Slapstick has been around forever, gross out humor, stoner humor, drier stuff, romantic comedy, there are all sorts of different kinds of things that appeal to different people, which I think is great. There's a little bit of something for everybody.