ONE OF THE FEW

Yup, his face is plastered everywhere.

I urge you all to go see "The 40 Year Old Virgin." Not because I think it's any good (I haven't seen it or read any reviews), but because I want you all to support Steve Carrell, a very funny and genuinely nice guy in a business known for its backstabbers and fakes.

I got to know Steve by traveling around this fine country with him during our tenures on "The Daily Show." He was really humble despite his incredible talent and was one of the few comedians I ever met who wasn't constantly "on." His early time at Second City (with Stephen Colbert, another genius) made him quick on his feet, and he learned the Daily Show game pretty quickly. (This was back in the days of the old Daily Show, where we didn't take ourselves or our interview subjects quite as seriously, and where we refused to script out field pieces in advance, instead letting the moments be "real." We also believed that even the craziest of people deserved to be made fun of along with the rest of the world, for which we were occasionally called "mean" or accused of "lobbing grenades into the bushes.")

My favorite story shot with Steve was in the deep deep depths of Minnesota (about 4 hours outside of Duluth, which shows you about how isolated it was). We traveled way the hell out there to meet a kindly old man who was raising money for the ultimate chicken museum (and getting very little help), and at one point he and Steve drove in lazy circles around the guy's driveway as his little white dog ran after the car. They talked about why Martha Stewart wouldn't let this particular gentleman caponize a chicken live on her show (for your reference, caponize means to "cut off his nards," as Steve helpfully pointed out).

Carrell has gone on to do a slew of IBM commercials ("Focus."), and played the weatherman in "Ron Burgundy" (maybe I'm biased, but I thought he was the best one in the movie). Now he's in the new "The Office," which is a tough role to play, and "The 40 Year Old Virgin" is due in theatres any day now.

Go check out the movie, if for no other reason than to support one of the good guys.