Ten years after his viral “Shake It Off” moment, Steve Carell doubles down on being a swiftie. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Monday, the actor opened up about meeting the pop star for the first time many years ago
The Office alum said he first met the singer while on set of MTV’s TRL back in the day.
“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,” Carell explained. “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.”
The actor, who now stars in the Broadway production of Uncle Vanya, also recalled a video he saw of Taylor performing at a children’s hospital. “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,” he told Fallon.
“It was no big crew, it was, like, a really low-key, handheld thing she did on the sly,” Carell added. “I thought, ‘That’s so cool.’ Not publicized, leading with her heart. I thought, ‘OK, I’m a fan. I am going to root for that person.’”
Watch the full interview below:
