The current biggest movie in the universe is “Despicable Me 4.” Over the extended July 4 weekend it took in $122 million domestically and $230 million worldwide. The series centers on Gru, a onetime supervillain who’s now a good guy, if not exactly someone you’d want to hang out with. He’s voiced by Steve Carell.
It’s not as if Carell, who turns 62 next month, has only had Gru as a big-screen credit (there are six features in the animated franchise). He was eighth billed, as “Steven Carell,” in his first, “Curly Sue” (1991). He’d moved up to being third billed, behind Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate, in “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” (2004). The title character in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (2005) was his breakout role. Don’t tell Michael Scott, but he played a Proust scholar in “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006). “Foxcatcher” (2014) earned him an Oscar nomination for best actor.
That’s quite a roster. Even so, it leaves out a lot of titles. Two others are “Bewitched” (2005), playing the Paul Lynde role, and “Get Smart” (2008), where he’s a natural as Maxwell Smart. Both of those movies are based on TV series. Come to think of it, “Ron Burgundy,” about local newscasters, has a TV connection, too. This is fitting, since TV has been so important in Carell’s career.
He’s had recurring roles in no fewer than a dozen series. Most of the shows weren’t especially, shall we say, memorable: “The Dana Carvey Show” (1996)? “Come to Papa” (2004)? “Space Force” (2020-22)? Two were crucial to his career. Carell spent six years as a “correspondent” on “The Daily Show” (1999-2005). Then he had the career-defining role of Scott, on “The Office” (2005-11, 2013). Could another actor have had success in the part? Sure. Yet it’s hard to imagine another actor having done it so well.
Expect to see “Despicable Me 5″ at some point. In the meantime, though, Carell continues with the small screen. He has a 10-episode HBO comedy in the works. Later this year, he starts filming a Netflix series based on the 1981 Alan Alda movie “The Four Seasons,” reuniting Carell with Tina Fey, his costar from “Date Night” (2010). Oh, and “The Office” continues to be a mainstay on Peacock, which in 2020 reportedly paid $500 million to get exclusive streaming rights for five years. Michael Scott may be the boss from purgatory, but he’s even better for the bottom line than Gru is.
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Mark Feeney can be reached at mark.feeney@globe.com.