Vault: Steve Carell Joins The Show

Summary

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The Bert Show – "Vault: Steve Carell Joins The Show"

Date: February 12, 2026

Episode Overview

In this lighthearted episode, The Bert Show welcomes acclaimed actor and comedian Steve Carell for an entertaining and candid interview. The conversation covers Steve’s early post-college ambitions (including a failed radio audition), his brief stint working as a rural mail carrier, a playful TMZ anecdote, reflections on family life, and a plug for his then-upcoming film "Get Smart." The episode is full of laughs and captures Carell’s genuine, self-deprecating wit while offering unique insights into his life off-camera.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Steve Carell’s Almost-Radio Career

• Post-College Auditions:
  Steve recounts his attempts to break into radio, revealing he once auditioned as a newsreader for a bizarre station broadcasting only into a tunnel leading to Logan Airport.
  • Steve Carell: “I auditioned for a job as a newsreader for something called the Sumner Callahan Radio Network, the station that only broadcast into the tunnel leading to Logan Airport because there was no reception...people could hear it for all of about 45 seconds.” (01:28)
• Radio Jokes:
  The hosts and Steve joke about the tiny potential audience and his desperate desire for the job, highlighting his trademark self-mockery.
  • Steve: “Oh, I was desperate. I was hungry. Are you kidding me? To get it?” (02:32)

2. Early Work Experience: Delivering Mail

• Mail Carrier Anecdote:
  Steve shares that he never worked in a traditional office, drawing instead from his time as a rural mail carrier in Massachusetts.
  • “The closest I worked was the US Post office. I was a rural mail carrier in Massachusetts.” (03:11)
• Comedic Dangers:
  Details the impracticalities of delivering mail with a left-hand drive car, working “incredibly dangerous” conditions.
  • “All of our cars were left hand drive, so we had to drive with one hand and deliver the mail out the right window. So it was incredibly dangerous.” (03:23)
• Lingering Effects:
  Admits he continued to discover undelivered mail in his car months after quitting.
  • “For months I was still finding mail that was like stuck under my feet. I'm really bad at it.” (03:40)

3. Avoiding the Celebrity Spotlight & The TMZ Story

• Being Recognized:
  Steve discusses his minimal run-ins with paparazzi, describing a particular encounter with TMZ and explaining his aversion to the show’s tactic of making celebrities look foolish.
  • “There was a guy with a video camera, and...he said he was from TMZ. And, you know, I know what they're about. So I just chose not to talk to him. That was basically it.” (05:05)
  • On TMZ: “They just try to make people...they’re like the bullies in school. They just try to make people look stupid. ...I get it, they’re making a living and they’re poking fun at people, but I just chose not to say anything.” (05:29)
• Celebrity Hotspots:
  Steve suggests many people who show up on TMZ are seeking out that attention, but it’s not for him.
  • “My life is pretty boring, so I don’t. There’s really nothing, you know, me coming out of a restaurant, I don’t know, frankly, who would even want to see that.” (06:33)

4. Family Life & Simple Pleasures

• Excitement Off-Camera:
  When asked about the most exciting recent event in his personal life, Steve draws a laugh with his “dad pride.”
  • “My family flew back to the east coast and my kids...they were really good on the plane. That was exciting. ...We were kind of over the hump in terms of like the screaming and...running up and down the aisles. ...So that was an exciting sort of monumental moment for us.” (07:09)
• Showcasing his down-to-earth approach to fame and family, Steve’s answer contrasts the high-wattage lives often portrayed by Hollywood celebrities.

5. Movie Plug: "Get Smart"

• Role & Story:
  The show wraps up (somewhat chaotically) asking Steve to describe his then-upcoming film.
  • “I play Maxwell Smart. This is sort of an origin story. He’s an analyst at the spy agency called control, and he is promoted to spy. ...It’s like a big action comedy. It’s sort of a comedic born identity.” (07:54)
• Co-star Banter:
  A playful jab at co-star Anne Hathaway and a quick note about the film’s release.
  • Host: “Anne Hathaway stars with you, right?”
    Steve: “Yeah. She’s very ugly.” (08:13)
• Closing Moments:
  The hosts plug the movie's opening (June 20), joke about interview confusion, and say their goodbyes in classic Bert Show style with Steve still lingering on the line.
  • Steve: “I didn’t know whether I was off or not.” (08:55)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On missing out on radio stardom:
  Steve: “My career could have taken a very different turn.” (02:59)
• On undelivered mail:
  Steve: “For months I was still finding mail that was like stuck under my feet. I'm really bad at it.” (03:40)
• On the pressure of paparazzi:
  Steve: “They're like the bullies in school. They just try to make people look stupid.” (05:29)
• Dad pride:
  Steve: “...They were really, really good (on the flight). So that was an exciting sort of monumental moment for us.” (07:09)
• On Anne Hathaway, jokingly:
  Steve: “Yeah. She’s very ugly.” (08:13)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Steve Carell Introduced: 01:01
• Early Radio and Failed Auditions: 01:24–02:59
• Mail Carrier Stories: 03:11–03:54
• TMZ Encounter & Celebrity Culture: 04:39–06:33
• Family Life & Recent “Excitement”: 07:01–07:34
• Plugging "Get Smart": 07:42–08:25
• Awkward Goodbyes & Outro Humor: 08:30–09:23

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Tone and Takeaway

The episode is breezy, good-natured, and full of the playful banter that defines The Bert Show. Steve Carell’s trademark humility, dry wit, and grounded approach to fame shine through. Fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this fun, behind-the-scenes peek at one of America’s favorite comedy actors—and why, thankfully, his radio career never got off the ground.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

The bird show. Hello.

[C]

Hello. Is this Steve Carell?

[B]

This is he.

[C]

Well, that's good luck on our part because we've been sitting here waiting for you. How are you today?

[B]

I'm well.

[C]

How you doing? We're doing great. Let me introduce you to everybody here. Okay? Okay. My name is Bert. Hi. This is Jeff.

[D]

Hi there.

[B]

Hello.

[C]

And Jen.

[D]

Hey.

[B]

Hi.

[C]

And Melissa.

[B]

Hey, Steve. Hi.

[C]

Do I have this right, that at one point or another you wanted to be a radio dj?

[B]

You know what? After. After college, I auditioned for a couple of. I auditioned for. To actually be a newsreader on a radio station. One up in the Green Mountains in New Hampshire. And I auditioned for a job as a newsreader for something called the Sumner Callahan Radio Network, the station that only broadcast into the tunnel leading to Logan Airport because there was no reception. So they just had a broadcast into the tunnel and people could hear it for all of about 45 seconds.

[D]

Did you get that job or did you just.

[B]

No, I didn't. I was not good enough.

[D]

When you auditioned, did you have one hand on your headphones and almost look very serious?

[B]

No, I probably didn't even have a headphone. I did, like, one hand cupped over my ear.

[D]

Yeah, yeah. If you're doing that, you should get the job because if you're gonna.

[B]

Oh, yeah, no, I know. That's a very professional position to take.

[C]

And even though only nine people are ever gonna listen to you, you wanted that job so bad.

[B]

Oh, I was desperate. I was hungry. Are you kidding me? To get it?

[D]

That is the best radio job in the world. Because in that tunnel, there's no one else to listen to.

[B]

Now they brought, now they, you know, they wired it so you get all reception through the tunnel. So I think that that particular station is probably obsolete at this point.

[C]

Well, that would have changed everything.

[B]

Yes. Cutting edge.

[C]

Yeah, well, that's because they didn't hire you as while they're obsolete. So that's what you take away from it.

[B]

My career could have taken a very different turn.

[C]

See, that's right. Steve Carell joining the burch show on Q100 today. I'm curious about your real life office experience. If it helps you draw upon for your role as Michael Scott on the Office.

[B]

I never actually worked in an office. The closest I worked was the US Post office. I was a rural mail carrier in Massachusetts.

[C]

Are you serious? Yeah.

[B]

I drove. And they didn't even supply us with a postal vehicle. We had to drive our own cars. All of our cars were left hand drive, so we had to drive with one hand and deliver the mail out the right window. So it was incredibly dangerous.

[C]

Always scooting over on the chair, huh?

[B]

Yeah, exactly. And I, then I moved to Chicago a few months after I quit the post office, but for months I was still finding mail that was like stuck under my feet. I'm really bad at it.

[C]

That's probably like one of those $1 million checks from publishers Clearinghouse that just never got delivered.

[D]

Exactly.

[B]

And you change inherited $10 million and.

[C]

You have changed the course of somebody's life because they had to claim that within 24 hours and it's still sitting.

[B]

Underneath your seat, probably.

[D]

Or you're in the car with a girl and she reaches between your seat and you get back in and she's like, who is Meredith Plimpton of New Hampshire?

[C]

Hey, Steve, before we get into talking about Get Smart, I have to play a clip of you on TV from a few months ago. That when I was watching it, it absolutely drove me crazy and I never got closure on it. So I'm hoping you can give me that closure today.

[B]

I'm very scared right now.

[C]

You shouldn't be. It's not going to be painful, I don't think, but I just, I feel like I need closure. And here is the clip.

[B]

What is this for, by the way?

[A]

Oh, tmz.

[C]

Oh, no, no, no.

[B]

No more of you guys.

[C]

You don't like tmz.

[B]

You put. Yeah, no, I'll pass.

[C]

Okay. So you're standing in front of A restaurant.

[B]

That's the first time anything like that had ever happened.

[C]

Right.

[B]

You know, because I don't. My wife and I really don't go to sort of Hollywood hangout places. We have two little kids. We just. We're real homebodies.

[C]

Mm.

[B]

So I came out of a restaurant. There was a guy with a video camera, and. And, you know, he said he was from tmz. And, you know, I know they're, you know, I know what they're about. So I just chose not to talk to him. That was basically it.

[C]

You started to say something there like, no, no, no, no, no. You guys once. Nevermind. Like you were gonna launch into a story and then you never got into it. And I was screaming at the tv.

[B]

I need to know, you know, what it was. It's just. It was just. I don't even know what the particular story was, but it was, you know, it was about some celebrity and I'd only. I just briefly seen what the show was about. And recently, you know, like that. That week I had, you know, somebody had told me about it, so I looked it up and basically, you know, they just try to make people. They just, you know, they're like the bullies in school. They just try to make people look stupid. So, you know, it was just in reference to something that I saw them do to somebody else. So, you know, I know what their agenda is and, you know, I get it. They're making a living and they're poking fun at people, but I just chose not to say anything. That's all.

[D]

Now you talk about hanging out at home and not going to those restaurants. When you do go out, is it fair to assume that the people who do end up on TMZ every day or week, you know, the regulars, if you will, are going places where they know they'll get that exposure and maybe even thrive on it or want it.

[B]

I don't know, perhaps, you know, that's. That's hard for me to even say. I don't see. I'm so out of the loop in terms of what people do. And, you know, that might be the case. Maybe some people are looking for the attention, the exposure. My life is pretty boring, so I don't. There's really nothing, you know, me coming out of a restaurant, I don't know, frankly, who would even want to see that.

[D]

What's the most exciting thing to happen in your life in the past seven days?

[B]

In the past seven days? Wow.

[D]

Not professionally, personally.

[B]

We. My family flew back to the east coast and my Kids were. I was 4 and a 7 year old and they were really good on the plane. That was exciting. We were kind of over the hump in terms of like the screaming and the, the, the. The. The jittery, you know, running up and down the aisles. They. They were really, really good. So that was an exciting sort of monumental moment for us.

[C]

I am absolutely.

[B]

Our time is up. I've got to move on. I'm sorry.

[C]

Can we at least ask him about Get Smart so we can plug the movie?

[D]

Absolutely.

[B]

Quick question, please.

[C]

Okay. Why don't we talk about Get Smart now?

[D]

Seems like a good time.

[C]

Opening on June 20th. Tell us all about it.

[B]

I play Maxwell Smart. This is sort of an origin story. He's an analyst at the spy agency called control, and he is promoted to spy. And he goes out in the field for the first time. And it's really exciting. It's like a big action comedy. It's sort of a comedic born identity.

[C]

Anne Hathaway stars with you, right?

[B]

Yeah. She's very ugly.

[C]

It's very hard to go to the set every day. And it opens up on June 20, correct?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

OK.

[B]

It turned out well. I think it's fun.

[C]

I can't wait to go see in theaters tomorrow. Yeah. All right, Steve, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.

[B]

Thanks a lot, guys.

[C]

All right, have a good one now. Bye bye.

[B]

You too.

[D]

Bye. Steve.

[C]

Today. Well, the whole thing in theaters today.

[D]

And you want to say. Cause you said like twice. And they're opening on. Opening today.

[C]

So Get Smart is opening today, correct?

[B]

That's right.

[D]

Oh, he's still there.

[C]

Oh, hey.

[D]

Dave, were you really confused?

[B]

I didn't know whether I was off for all.

[C]

You. You can leave whenever you like or we can hang out.

[B]

I'm always confused.

[C]

Never.

[D]

Never before has he been happier that he's not in radio and that that tunnel job didn't work out. Listen to these jackasses. Can't even get today.

[C]

If I knew he was still on, we should have just started the interview over as a station in Houston. We would have got. All right, Steve. Thank you. I'll hang up now.

[B]

Thanks, guys.

[C]

All right.

[D]

Bye bye.

[B]

The bird show.