I've been interviewing Steve Carell now for years. 

Not continuously, of course, but I've talked to him a good half-dozen times or so since the I met him on the set of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," and in that time, I've always found him to be a focused, impressive performer who is exactly who he appears to be.  He's got a wry wit, he seems like a real student of world comedy, and he makes strong choices in his work.

It's always good to sit down to talk to him, and on this particular morning at the Four Seasons, I had a few things I wanted to discuss with him.  I was there for the "Despicable Me" junket, but I'd also just seen an early screening of "Dinner For Schmucks," and both of them were still fresh in my mind and worth conversation.  I set up two different interviews with him for the same day, and what you'll see here is the first one.  We did this on video.  The second one was set up as a phoner, and Carell seemed greatly amused when we spoke the second time that I had driven all the way home just so we could talk again.

He seems to me to be very pleased with both of these films, and when an actor actually likes the film they're promoting, the conversation can be so much easier.  In this case, Carell couldn't have been more charming or approachable, and I hope that comes across in both of the interviews.  I'll run the print conversation later in the week, but for now, enjoy this one.

We'll also have some other interviews for "Despicable Me" this week, including a great one I did with Julie Andrews.

Yeah, that's right.  Mary F**king Poppins, yo.  And it was awesome.

"Despicable Me" opens this Friday.  "Dinner For Schmucks" opens July 30.

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You can e-mail me at drew@hitfix.com or follow me on Twitter, where I'm DrewAtHitFix.