Famous television and movie actor Steve Carell has his own Elite Hockey Prospects page, which outlines his time as a high school and college goaltender.
Most people know Carell as Michael Scott, a paper sales manager from the wildly successful TV series The Office. Or they may know him as Brick Tamland, a weatherman from the Anchorman movies.
But I doubt many people know that during his teenage years, Carell once considered a career in hockey.
We know why Michael Scott, the character, did not decide to play in the NHL, but why did Carell, who played college hockey, not pursue life on the ice any further?
In 2013, he did an interview with ESPN where he spoke about that decision and how he was a huge Boston Bruins fan in the ’70s.
OK, so no remake of “Slap Shot,” but what other hockey movies would you like to make?
Steve Carell: I would love to do any hockey movie. In fact, I auditioned awhile ago for ‘Mystery, Alaska.’ It was a skating audition. You had to come out there and skate, and I already knew how to do that. I didn’t get past the first round of auditions. At my age right now, I guess the only thing I could be playing is an older coach!
Growing up in Boston, how much did sports mean to you?
Steve Carell: I was definitely a Bruins fan. Celtics too. Havlicek. Cowens. Bird. You could count on those teams always being in the mix. The Bruins’ great run in the early 1970s inspired me to get into hockey. I think I was eight-years-old, and all my friends started playing. Those teams inspired generations to play youth hockey. Bobby Orr. Teddy Green. Esposito. Sanderson. Monumental times.
How good were you?
Steve Carell: I grew up in the suburb of Boston. I know they were the big, bad Bruins. But that’s not the way we were coached. Our game was finesse. Our team actually won a national championship. We won for the ‘Squirt’ level. We went to Detroit to compete against the top teams in the country and ended up winning.
Did you think about playing professionally?
Steve Carell: I was a goalie. At a certain point, you either have to commit to that as a potential career or let it become a fun hobby. That happened in high school. I had to think about whether I was going to a Division I college hockey program and fight for a job of a goaltender or do something else. Instead, I went to a Division III school (Denison University in Ohio) and played throughout college. It was for fun and not advancing myself.
Do you still play today?
Steve Carell: I play in a league in Los Angeles. I’m not in the big league with Jerry Bruckheimer and his friends. I play down in Orange County with my brother. We play about once a week. It’s structured enough with refs and uniforms. We are there just to have fun.
No word on the true exploits of “Cherokee Jack” however.
