"I am going to root for that person"— When Steve Carell explained how a single moment made him a lifelong Taylor Swift fan

Steve Carell, who rose to worldwide fame by playing Michael Scott on The Office, revealed that he is a Taylor Swift fan. On June 10, 2024, he appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote his latest film, Despicable Me 4. During the interview, Fallon revealed a lesser-known fact about the star by mentioning that he is a Swiftie, to loud cheers from the audience.

The 62-year-old actor confirmed that he is indeed a fan. His admiration stemmed from his watching a video of Swift spending time with a sick child in a hospital. Carell went on to praise the singer's caring and down-to-earth nature, before ending with the statement:

"I’m a fan. I am going to root for that person."

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Steve Carell's love for Taylor Swift, explained

In the interview, Steve Carell revealed that he first came across Taylor Swift when they both appeared on MTV’s TRL (Total Request Live) at the start of their careers. Although their interaction was brief, he added that he found the young singer to be "very sweet" and "special," and said he walked away feeling impressed.

The Date Night star said he followed Swift's meteoric success over the years, but the moment that made him a lifelong fan took place away from the limelight. A few years ago, Steve stumbled upon a video of the pop icon performing for a sick child who was recuperating in a hospital. He recounted the incident by telling the host, Jimmy Fallon:

"I remember seeing some video of her — and it wasn’t like a big, viral thing, it was just something I found in the recesses of the internet — it was her in a hospital, playing an acoustic guitar for a patient there. It was no big crew, it was, like, a really low-key, handheld thing she did on the sly. I thought, ‘That’s so cool.’ Not publicized, leading with her heart."

This, though, was not the first time that Steve Carell professed his love for Taylor Swift.

A decade prior, in 2014, he went viral for singing Taylor's hit single, Shake It Off at the end of his interview for ABC's Popcorn with Peter Travers. When a confused Travers asked Carell if he had heard the song at home, presuming his kids were into Taylor Swift, he corrected the host by saying:

"I love it. I actually love Taylor Swift. I think she’s great."

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Is Taylor Swift a fan of The Office?

The love seems to be mutual as Swift has shown her love for Steve Carell's The Office in the past.

The music video for her 2011 single, Ours, from the album Speak Now, seemingly paid tribute to the iconic NBC show. In the music video, Taylor plays a bored office worker, similar to Pam Beesly, working at a company that looks similar to Dunder Mifflin from the show. She also released a behind-the-scenes The Office-style webisode to accompany the music video in December 2011.

In December 2020, Taylor Swift had a delightful Twitter exchange with Rainn Wilson, who played assistant to the regional manager, Dwight Schrute, on the hit series.

On December 11, 2020, Spin magazine called Swift's latest album, Evermore, an "undeniable folk-pop masterpiece" on their official Twitter account. The Pennsylvania native responded with a gif of Dwight Schrute crying and saying, "thank you."

The post caught Wilson's attention, and he jokingly pretended to not know Swift in his tweet dated December 14, 2020. The post read, "I do not know who this is. Inventor of the Swiffer?" The Willow singer responded the next day, sharing a gif of John Krasinski's Jim Halpert mouthing "Touché" to the camera in acknowledgment of Wilson's tweet.

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Steve Carell reprised his role as Gru in Despicable Me 4

Steve Carell as seen with the cast of Despicable Me 4 during the New York premiere in June 2024 (Image via Getty)

Steve Carell's latest film release was the animated comedy film, Despicable Me 4, released on July 3, 2024. The film is a sequel to 2017's Despicable Me 3 and the sixth overall installment in the beloved Despicable Me franchise.

The comedy film is co-directed by Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage from a screenplay written by Mike White and Ken Daurio. It was made on a budget of $100 million, and grossed $969.1 million in worldwide box office collections, as per Box Office Mojo.

Steve Carell reprised his role as Gru in the latest film, and was joined by Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Stephen Colbert, Pierre Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Sofía Vergara, Joey King, and Chloe Fineman, among others.

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