Middle-aged virgins do exist, but the 2005 comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin put them front and center on the silver screen, via the shy and nervous character Andy played by Steve Carell. We laughed at his awkward social skills, kooky collectables and failed attempts at romance, but there are a few things you probably didn’t know went on behind-the-scenes to make this a truly memorable movie watching experience!
1. Steve Carell dropped 30 pounds for his role.
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2. Speaking of weight, Paul Rudd was deemed too fat by Universal Pictures and filming was shut down for two days which he didn’t eat to satisfy the studio.
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3. At the time of filming, Steve Carell was 43 and the father of two small daughters.
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4. Steve Carell went method for the waxing scene and after experiencing the pain of it realized what a mistake it was. It took 7 weeks for all his hair to grow back.
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5. It was Paul Rudd’s idea for Steve to scream “KELLY CLARKSON” during the wax.
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6. After dancing in the Age of Aquarius scene, Jonah Hill suffered from heat stroke.
7. One million feet of film was shot.
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8. The American Humane Association withheld its “no animals were harmed…” disclaimer because exotic fish were accidentally killed during filming following a power outage, which affected the aeration in the fish tank.
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9. Leslie Mann came up with the idea to throw up on Andy’s face.
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10. Universal Pictures thought Steve Carell looked like a serial killer.
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11. Speaking of Universal Pictures being picky, they refused to allow Jason Segel to be in the movie even though director Judd Apatow had him as a top pick.
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12. The “Guatemalan Love Song” Jane Lynch sings was an excerpt from her high school Spanish text book.
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13. All the movies playing in the Smarttech store were Universal Pictures films.
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14. Even though the characters were all supposed to be around the same age, Seth Rogen was 20 years younger than Steve Carell.
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15. The 40-Year-Old Virgin was the first time the world saw Mindy Kaling on screen before The Office premiered.
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