Steve Carell Dazzles in ‘The Patient,’ But He’s Been Nailing Dramatic Roles For Years

When most people hear the name Steve Carell, they understandably think: “comedy.” After spending nearly a decade studying improv at The Second City in Chicago, Carell served as a correspondent on The Daily Show before starring as World’s Best Boss Michael Scott on The Office for seven seasons.

That defining role, along with a number of other humorous characters Carell’s brought to life over the years, helped carve out his outstanding comedic legacy. But his latest role in Hulu’s psychological thriller The Patient, which premiered two episodes on August 30, serves as a reminder that Carell’s talents aren’t confined to humor. Not only is he capable of handling dramatic roles; he excels at them.

In The Patient, Carell plays Alan Strauss, a therapist whose patient Sam Fortner (Domhnall Gleeson) kidnaps and chains him to the floor of his basement. Sam reveals that he’s a serial killer and expresses a hope that readily accessible, in-home treatment from Alan will curb his murderous compulsion. Over the course of 10 episodes, Alan cycles through emotional turmoil, intense introspection, and enlightened empathy, as Carell gives one of his finest dramatic performances to date. He plays the captive character with extraordinary control, exercising palpable patience and self-restraint, while erupting with raw emotion and regret when warranted. Carell dives to new depths to deliver career-great acting in The Patient. But his complex portrayal of Alan Strauss is just the latest in a long streak of dramatic roles he’s nailed since leaving The Office, many of which remain severely underrated.

Rather than play it safe by solely seeking more laughs post-Dunder Mifflin, the actor set out to further explore and flex the dramatic chops we got a taste of in 2006, when he played anguished, vulnerable suicide survivor and Proust scholar Frank Ginsberg in the tragicomedy Little Miss Sunshine. With 2012’s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and 2018’s Welcome to Marwen, Carell gave us moving, heartwarming moments and characters infused with humanity that closely aligned with his own good guy reputation in Hollywood. But some of Carell’s most powerful dramatic roles have been fully transformative. In 2013’s The Way Way Back, he played a demeaning jerk boyfriend and irresponsible step-father figure. He gave a dynamic portrayal of tennis champ Bobby Riggs in the 2017 biopic Battle of the Sexes, and peeled back the layers of angry, conflicted, wannabe-righteous trading firm leader Mark Baum (inspired by hedge-funder Steve Eisman) in 2015’s The Big Short. Most notably, Carell earned an Oscar nom for his chilling prosthetic-heavy performance of real-life convicted killer John du Pont in 2014’s Foxcatcher.

Some of Carell’s most stirring scenes in The Patient — triggered by his character’s estranged relationship with his son — are undeniably reminiscent of two past paternal performances. In the 2017 war drama Last Flag Flying, Carell plays Larry Shepard, a grieving father and Vietnam veteran who takes comfort in old friends and finds pockets of joy in the lead-up to his son’s funeral. And in the 2018 biographical drama Beautiful Boy, the actor poured his heart into David Sheff, a heartbroken father watching drugs destroy his son Nic (Timothée Chalamet). Carell summons the same excruciating pain he put forth in these gut-wrenching roles to illustrate the fear that he may never have the chance to make amends with his son in The Patient.

After saying goodbye to a character as iconic and enduring as Michael Scott, it makes sense why Carell took a nearly decade-long break from major TV roles following The Office. But when he finally made his return, the success of his drama series, The Morning Show, sizably eclipsed that of his now canceled comedy flop, Space Force. In the Apple TV+ drama starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, Carell played Mitch Kessler, a formerly beloved broadcast anchor whose career suffered when he was hit with sexual harassment and abuse allegations. The actor makes a valiant on-screen effort to shed his immense likability and step into the shoes of a despicable, deceptive man. And though from start to baffling end, The Morning Show repeatedly missed opportunities to write fleshed out storylines and direction for Kessler, the show’s narrative shortfalls didn’t hinder Carell’s performance.

The Morning Show also highlights Carell’s ability to access several different versions of a character — tapping into both humor and tension — in a single project. We see that same talent in The Patient when we cut from the defeated Alan in Sam’s basement to flashbacks that show him happily cherishing moments with his wife and kids years earlier. Even in his funniest role on The Office, Carell showed glimpses of his poignant potential by bringing expressive eyes, a vulnerable core, and an essence of innocence to Michael Scott. Carell is a comedic genius, but if you’ve been sleeping on the fact that he’s one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors who dominates dramas, let The Patient be your long-overdue wake-up call.