Steve Carell and The Office costars admit it was hard to break the habit of looking into camera

Old habits die hard — and for Steve Carell and his castmates on The Office, that includes breaking the fourth wall.

As any fan of the long-running NBC comedy can attest, the show's mockumentary style often featured characters stealing glances and looking directly into the cameras. That's something actors try to avoid on most narrative projects, and as Carell admitted on a recent episode of Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey's Office Ladies podcast, it's a habit he's never quite managed to break in his post-Michael Scott career.

"I have never had a job where I didn't look into the camera at some point," he confessed.

"Same!" Fischer said. "I can't not make the camera a character now. It's such a habit."

"At least once," Carell continued. "I'm sure on Foxcatcher I like looked into the camera and [then told myself], 'Nope. You cannot comment on what you just did.'"

Kinsey has been guilty of it too, recalling, "I actually had a director say 'Uh, Angela, you just looked right down the barrel.'"

Elsewhere on the podcast, Carell opened up about other aspects of his time playing the world's most insensitive boss.

The Office was famously based on a British series of the same name, written by and starring Ricky Gervais. Carell noted that he purposely avoided watching any of the original series when preparing to play Michael. "I chose not to watch the British version because I didn't want that to influence whatever this version was going to be," he said. "[Gervais] was clearly so great at it, he was such a distinctive character, I didn't want to do an impression of him."

Carell also discussed filming his final episode in the seventh season. His character left after getting engaged to longtime love Holly (Amy Ryan) and deciding to move to Colorado with her to help take care of her elderly parents. The actor reflected on the bittersweet nature of the episode, sending Michael off in a place where he felt satisfied with his character arc, but saying goodbye to all his colleagues.

"It was a really difficult episode to do, but I also loved it at the same time because it was the end game for Michael," he said. "It showed the growth that he didn't need the big sendoff, he didn't need the big party. He could say goodbye to all of his friends on his own terms without the fanfare. I really enjoyed having that character evolve to that point."

As for the more personal aspects, Carell remembered things having a more celebratory air than one might expect. "For me, there was a joy to [shooting my last few episodes]," he said. "Like when you're crying with joy! It wasn't even sadness. I was ready to go, I wasn't sad for leaving. It was time for other characters to step to the forefront and other storylines to be pursued. The timing was right for everybody. But simultaneously, there was just a sense of joy that we had experienced all of this. I was getting a chance to take a lap with everybody. I was simultaneously saying goodbye as Michael and us as friends in this moment of work together. It was a very emotional thing!"

Listen to Carell on Office Ladies above.

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