Steve Carell, the comedian, has made his debut as a non-comic actor in a feature film, as even his director admits he had showed "no material evidence" he could handle it.
Carell, star of 40-Year-Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine, Anchorman and the American version of The Office, plays John Du Pont in new drama Foxcatcher.
In a marked change from his usual roles of choice, he takes the part of the wealthy but disturbed heir, who seeks the approval of this mother by paying his way to coach an Olympic wrestler.
Saying there was no difference in the approach to playing comic or dramatic characters, he has now received rave reviews at Cannes Film Festival despite the director admitting Carell had no proven experience.
Some in Cannes have already tipped him for an Oscar nomination, with the Telegraph's Robbie Collin calling him "transformed" and "astonishing".
Bennett Miller told a press conference he had decided to give Carell the part after meeting the actor over lunch, saying it "obviously doesn't resemble anything he had done before."
"I'll tell you, as I'm sure he will too, that it was so far out of his comfort zone," he said. "But we met and we talked about the character, and truthfully I'd never seen Steve do anything that would give any material evidence he can do this.
"We chatted and I heard how he was thinking about the character, and I had a vision for it working. I thought, 'he can do it and he will kill himself doing it. It may hurt but it will get there'".
"I really cannot imagine anyone doing these roles but these guys."
When asked about his transformation from a comedian to a serious dramatic actor, Carell said: "I think it's really the same approach you take to the comedy. I don't think characters in films know that they're in a comedy or a drama. They're just characters in films.
"I didn't approach it as a drama necessarily; it was just a story and character within that story."
He added: "You can do all sorts of research, listening to somebody's voice and watching them, but ultimately you forget all that when you start to shoot.
"If you rehearse enough it's inside you. It didn't really feel like an acting exercise, it was a different experience altogether."
The film sees Channing Tatum take the role of Mark Schultz, the Olympic wrestler aiming for another gold at the Seoul games. Paid handsomely by Du Pont, he is convinced to move into a state-of-the art gym on the family estate along with his gregarious older brother Dave, to help fulfil the heir's dreams of coaching a team to glory.
Mark Ruffalo, who plays Dave Schultz, said: "There is, I feel, a moral thrust to the story. There's a Greek tragedy buried in it.
"What happens when everything has a price on it and everything is for sale? What happens to talent when it's for sale or can be acquired? What happens to people when they're in a system that values almost everything at a price?
"There's this moment when these really, really talented people who can't really do what they do best in the world unless they can figure out a way to monetise it.
"It cost their talent a great deal. That was a theme that's interesting, thoughtful and up for discussion."
Miller added: "There are themes that are much larger than the story. I can relate it to the world we live in, our country, but I do not want to venture out and make a comment about it - it's not political film, it doesn't take a moral position. It's meant to be an investigation in an attempt to understand somebody's dynamics.
"One way of looking at the universe if through a microscope, and the other way is through a telescope. This is the microscope."
Speaking in ahead of the film's premiere, Tatum disclosed how he and Ruffalo had undertaken six months of wrestling training to become convincing enough for their parts.
As well as meeting the real life Mark Schutlz, who visited the set to advise them, the pair prepared "pretty intensely", with Tatum claiming: "Both of us have cauliflower ear as take-home presents, and bad knees."
The film, which also stars Sienna Miller and Vanessa Redgrave, does not yet have a confirmed UK release date, but will be out in the US in November.
Source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/cannes-film-festival/10842227/Steve-Carell-tipped-for-Oscar-for-serious-acting-debut-despite-no-material-evidence-he-could-do-it.html
