Steve Carell Says Taylor Swift Showed Him Kindness in Early Days of Their Careers

Steve Carell opened up to Jimmy Fallon about how Taylor Swift treated him when they first met.

Steve Carell can't shake off his love for Taylor Swift

The actor revealed his admiration for the 34-year-old singer during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday. 

"You know, I was doing some research about the things that people may not know about Steve Carell and I read somewhere that you were a Swiftie,” host Jimmy Fallon, 49, said. "A Taylor Swift fan." This prompted cheers from the crowd, setting the stage for The Office star to share his story.

"Listen, I met — briefly — I met Taylor Swift," the 61-year-old began. "Remember TRL, way, way back. So early on in my career and in hers too, I was obviously much older, but we were both on TRL at the same time. I met her sort of in passing and I thought, 'Boy, is she, she seems special,' like even back then. Very sweet, very nice. Just had a really nice first impression."

Actor & comedian Steve Carell during an interview on Monday, June 10, 2024 - Rosalind O'Connor/NBC via Getty Images

Carell continued to describe a touching video that further cemented his admiration for Swift.

"Some kid who was recovering from something,” Carell recounted. "There was no big crew. It was like a really low-keyed, handheld thing that she sort of just did on the sly." He added, "That's so cool and not publicized. Just leading with her heart. I thought, 'OK, I’m a fan, I am going to root for that person.'"

 

Fallon praised Carell, calling him a “really nice human as well,” to which Carell humorously downplayed his own kindness.

"No no no. No, not Taylor Swift level,” he said.

Fallon retorted, "No, but you’re up there. I've seen, you're so nice, you’re one of the nicest."

Carell jokingly replied, "It's an act, come on! Hollywood stuff. It's what gets you ahead. Just wait until the cameras go off,” prompting laughter from the audience.

Carell isn't alone in his admiration for Swift as his The Office co-star, John Krasinski, also has some Swifties in his house. Krasinski's wife, Emily Blunt, shared her family's fondness for the singer during a recent interview on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show. Blunt, 41, described a heartwarming encounter between Swift and her daughters, Hazel, 9, and Violet, 7.

"She's the nicest," Blunt told Stern of Swift. "She was so nice to my kids! My oldest kid has just cut all of her hair off, this very short haircut that she was very self-conscious about. And Taylor Swift, goes, like, 'God, look at you, you're just this '60s beatnik cool kid. I love your style.'"

 

The Fall Guy star quipped that she thought Hazel "was going to faint." 

"It was the best thing anyone has done for my child," Blunt said of the exchange, calling Swift "very cool."

Blunt added that being nice to her kids is the way to her heart, saying, "It changes everything. It makes me melt."

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