The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, March 18, 2011 2 coverstory Beginning of the end Carell prepares to punch out at ‘The Offi ce’ Carell quickly made his mark as the lovable, though usually delusional, boss who truly be- lieves he’s God’s gift to his em- ployees, both a knowledgeable leader and a best buddy. Despite a torrent of objec- tions from fans, the performer has been humble about his de- parture from the series, saying on more than one occasion that he believes the show will continue to flourish without him. Last June, Carell even went so far as to tell Kristina Guerrero of E! News that his exit could add some new ener- gy to the show. Steve Carell stars in “The Office” By Kyla Brewer TV Media S aying goodbye is never easy, but it’s even more difficult when just about everyone wants you to stay. That must be what Steve Carell is feeling these days. The actor’s decision to leave the hit NBC sitcom “The Office” has had fans in a tizzy since he an- nounced his intentions last spring. Carell has earned reams of fans as overzealous office manager Michael Scott in the series, which airs Thursdays on NBC. Based on the hit BBC series of the same name, the Ameri- can version of the show got off to a slow start, but soon caught on in the U.S. and is to- day one of network television’s most popular comedies. Filmed to look like a docu- mentary (leading a trend of “mockumentary” series on network TV), the show uses a single camera and no laugh track. Viewers are to believe that the employees of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company’s Scranton Branch are the sub- jects of a documentary, and of- ten the characters speak di- rectly to the camera in private interviews and asides. Regardless of whether or not fans want to say goodbye, Carell doesn’t have much time left. In fact, news recently broke that Michael Scott would say adieu before the end of the season. Rumor has it he’ll bow out with four epi- sodes to go, which means his exodus could happen as early as April. However, he won’t be say- ing farewell without a good sendoff. He’ll be surrounded by great friends and fantastic per- formers as usual, including Os- car nominee Amy Ryan, who’ll briefly reprise her role as Mi- chael’s on-again, off-again love interest, Holly. The big news, though, is that Will Ferrell has signed on to ap- pear in the season’s final few episodes as a fellow branch manager whose inappropriate antics rival those of Michael Scott. It’ll mark a reunion for Ferrell and Carell, who starred in the 2004 big-screen comedy A/Auto Boutique B/The Green Giraffe 2 x 2 “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” Execs are understandably thrilled with the pairing. After joking that they transformed Carell from a mere movie star to a television star, executive producer Paul Lieberstein quipped: “We are proud to continue ‘The Office‘s’ tradition of discovering famous talent, and we hope that once Ameri- ca gets a good look at Will, they’ll see what we see: tre- mendous raw sexuality.” The plan is to have Ferrell and Carell appear in a few epi- sodes together, and then have Ferrell stay on for at least one episode after the series star leaves. It isn’t clear whether Ferrell could stay on with the series at this point, but it may be wise for producers to test the waters first. After all, the ensemble cast has developed a unique chem- istry over the past seven sea- sons. Carell may be the stand- out star, but “The Office” is stacked with talented actors, most of whom have only be- come household names since landing on the series. John Krasinski charmed his way into millions of home thanks to his role as mischie- vous salesman Jim Halpert. Trained at the National Theater Institute and The Actors Center in New York City, Krasinski has appeared in such films as “Leatherheads” (2008) and “It’s Complicated” (2009), but even his big-screen work pales in comparison to his popularity as Halpert. hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Was that Daniel Dae Kim acting as the villain on the TV show “Charmed”? A: Yes, indeed, there was a time that Daniel Dae Kim had to find work away from the beach in Hawaii. Though he’s well known now as a lead actor in two of the biggest shows of recent years, the “Lost” and “Hawaii Five- 0” star was once (and not all that long ago) a struggling young actor taking what roles he could get in Hollywood. Kim took quite a while to make his name, actually. He was doing mostly one-offs and bit roles, broken up by the occa- sional multi-episode TV-show arc, for a decade before he re- ally came to prominence with “Lost” in 2004. One of those small roles was in a 2001 episode of “Charmed,” playing an envious young Buddhist trainee who kidnaps his master and drags him to an alternate di- mension. That gig actually came out of another role he was playing at the same time on the same network. Kim had a recurring, small-ish role on the WB Network’s “Angel,” a spinoff of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” These two showed a penchant for the fantastic that went a long way to getting him the job on the fantasy-supernatural-generally weird series “Lost.” Have a question? E-mail us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. Chirstopher’s Coins 2 x 2 A/Crazy Tom's B/Allstar Auto Wash 2 x 3