It turns out that Steve Carell may not be the biggest fan of classic ’70s horror movies. In an interview with ScreenRant, the actor revealed that during his childhood, he snuck into a theatre to see two scary, not age-appropriate films: The Exorcist, and Jaws. But, instead of enjoying the spooky flicks, a young Carell left the cinema scarred.
Steve Carell’s latest cinematic outing sees him reprise the role of Gru in the Despicable Me franchise. In the newly released animated movie Minions: The Rise of Gru, the star voices the titular super villain, and with the help of the yellow Minions, sets about on his evil career. While promoting the film, Carell was asked about a particular scene in the flick. In the kids movie, we see Gru and the minions sneak into the cinema to see Steven Spielberg‘s iconic 1970s film Jaws.
Carell was asked if he, like his character in the family movie, ever snuck into an age-restricted film back in the day. The actor confirmed that he did, and like in The Rise of Gru, one of the movies in question was Jaws.
He also snuck into a screening of William Friedkin’s award-winning movie The Exorcist, and apparently, neither the famous demonic story nor Spielberg’s sharky feature ticked his movie-going boxes. In fact, they traumatised the young lad.
“I snuck in to see Jaws. I snuck in to see The Exorcist,” Carell said. “Inadvertently, it was a mistake. I wanted to see The Exorcist, but there’s a reason why kids should not go see The Exorcist. And Jaws? I didn’t swim in the ocean [after]. I still don’t love it. I’m not a big fan.”
To be fair, Jaws and The Exorcist aren’t really scary movies for kids, so we can understand why they may not have been Carell’s cup of tea. After Minions: The Rise of Gru, Carell is also staying away from the horror genre for the time being.
Fans can next see the star in the TV series The Patient on August 30, 2022. Carell is also set to return as Gru for Despicable Me 4, and is set to appear in John Krasinski’s upcoming fantasy movie, Imaginary Friends.