Despite Steve Carell's Character in 'The Patient,' He Isn't Jewish

Actor Steve Carell, a household name revered for his impeccable timing in comedy and compelling depth in drama, stands out not only for his versatile career but also for the quiet integrity with which he approaches his life off-camera.

Known for his breakout role as the painfully awkward yet endearing boss Michael Scott in The Office and his poignant portrayal in films like The Big Short and Beautiful Boy, Steve's personal beliefs, specifically his religion, present an intriguing facet to the man behind the laughter. But, what is Steve Carell's religion?

Many fans think that Steve is Jewish because he plays a Jewish character, Dr. Alan Strauss, in The Patient. Steve was raised a Roman Catholic and still identifies with those views today. In an interview with Collider, Steve shared, "I’m Catholic, but I don’t really feel this is a platform to talk about my own personal beliefs."

In a separate interview with Cinema, Steve shared about the movie Evan Almighty, "I'm Catholic, born and bred. It's interesting because that really didn't come into play when doing the movie. I didn't decide to do it because I’m Catholic, I just thought it had a nice message."

He also shared, "And I don't see it as a religious movie, it a film about kindness and being aware of the earth and the environment. It's also about one man's self-discovery and his journey to learn what's important to him and how he can do his own small thing."

While filming The Patient with Steve, executive producer Joe Weisberg shared, "When we came up with the original idea, the character wasn’t originally Jewish. And then you start, as you always do, looking for ways to add specificity and depth. And we came up with that idea pretty quickly. But it allowed us to tap into things from our own lives."

Joel Fields, the other EP for The Patient and the son of a rabbi, shared with Newsweek in an interview, "The part of what interested us was there was a character who is a therapist and his whole identity is bound up in being on the solid emotional footing, and in being able to parse these things through and build good relationships because that's what he does."

Peacock has confirmed a reboot of The Office, but fans are wondering if Steve will be coming back as Michael Scott. With The Office spinoff shifting to a Midwest setting, a cameo from Steve becomes more plausible. After Steve's departure in Season 7, his character relocated from Scranton, Pa., to Boulder, Colo.

This move places him significantly closer to the spinoff's Midwest location than the original show's Northeast setting, enhancing the likelihood of his appearance despite the exact locale in the Midwest remaining undisclosed.