“I Know Firsthand That These Families Exist.” Steve Carell's Wife, with Whom He Starred in The Office, Was His Inspiration for the Thanksgiving Movie
Steve Carell talked about how his wife, Nancy Walls Carell, and more specifically her family, was the inspiration for his Thanksgiving movie.
Steve Carell is best known for his role as Michael Scott from The Office, however, the actor has appeared in more than just the TV series. We could also see him in many films, including Dan in Real Life, a production for which the actor may have drawn inspiration from his own life.
Carell is married to Nancy Walls Carell, with whom he starred in The Office and several of his other productions. During an interview with Crosswalk, he talked about how his experiences with her family inspired him for his role in Dan in Real Life. The actor confessed that his wife has six siblings and a large family in general that gets together at least once a year. It's a big get-together where everyone have fun together, plays games, and the kids even hold talent shows.
The Walls' meetings, on the other hand, immediately made him think of the scenes he was to play in Dan in Real Life, where his character attends a big family reunion where, among other things, a talent competition is about to take place. Something Carell knows from personal experience.
It’s very similar to my wife’s family, I have to say. She comes from a family of six brothers and sisters. The first time I met her entire family was at her brother-in-law’s 40th birthday party and there must have been 100 people there. I was the new boyfriend stepping into the fray. A lot of families you see in movies are very dysfunctional and they play off of that aspect.
This family is extremely functional and loving, with a huge heart. My wife’s family was that way. They embraced me. They have a beach house in Massachusetts and all get together, at least once a year, in that house. They play football on the beach, the kids do a talent show for the family.
Carell thus emphasized that such warm and close-knit large families really do exist and are not just a product of fiction that we can see in movies like Dan in Real Life.
It’s as if I lifted their family and put it into this movie. There are so many similarities. So I understood it and I believed it. It did not seem unrealistic to me because I know firsthand that these families exist.
Steve Carell's story only further encourages you to sit down and watch this film with your family this year during Thanksgiving.