Steve Carell attempts to prove he’s not a nice guy on ‘Conan’

Steve Carell: Hollywood’s Mr. Nice Guy. “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” star headed to “Conan” on Thursday night to promote the magician comedy costarring Jim Carrey and apparently to tarnish his nice-guy reputation.

He was successful with the former, but not so much with the latter.

“Do you ever feel like it’s a burden to be known of as one of the nicest guys in the business?,” Conan O’Brien asked “The Office” star.

VIDEO: ‘The Incredible Burt Wonderstone’ premiere

“See, I’m not that nice a guy, I’m a middling sort of nice, middle-range nice,” Carell responded. He’s not a complete jerk, he said.

Earlier in the show, Carell was outed for rocking a mustache in college and high school, which was meant to help him intimidate his lacrosse opponents. But that guy with the ‘stache “doesn’t intimidate people and he doesn’t get the girls,” Carell added.

But back to his benevolence.

“I’m not especially nice,” Carell added, noting that compared to Tom Hanks he looks like a jerk. “I wouldn’t say it’s a burden but there are times that you kinda wish that people thought you had a little more grit, but I look like the guy in the mustache....”

Awww.

PHOTOS: ‘The Incredible Burt Wonderstone’ premiere

Carell rose to fame in NBC’s workplace comedy “The Office,” where he played out-of-touch but well-meaning manager Michael Scott. When he left the show to focus on his film career, his filmography was still chock full of his amicable, nice-guy roles (See: “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Get Smart” and “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” He was even a lovable villain in “Despicable Me.”)

“I’ve never been given the opportunity to be a bad-ass,” the actor revealed, after which O’Brien prompted him to prove his malevolence by letting loose and “just break something, something off-limits.” Carell then picked up the host’s keepsake Eisenhower mug and smashed it on the set desk.

“GET ANOTHER ONE,” Carell shouted. “I DON’T EVEN CARE. SCREW YOU AND YOUR MEMENTO MUG!”

“I’ve had that mug for 25 years!” O’Brien said.

“TOUGH!” Carell shouted again.

But it was all a ruse, much like Nina Dobrev’s throwdown with the red-coiffed comedian.

“I am so glad that that was actually the fake mug,” Carell said. “And I looked over there and I was like, I really hope they switched it because I would freak out.”

“Well, you would be devastated if such a thing like that happened. Because you are a nice person,” O’Brien pointed out.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Carell admitted.

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