Steve Carell Explains The Hilarious Reason 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' Was Almost Never Made

"The 40-Year-Old Virgin" essentially launched the film career of director Judd Apatow and actor Steve Carell, but it almost never got made.

During a Tuesday appearance on "Conan," Carrell explained the hilarious reason Universal was so keen on canning the film.

"We'd only been shooting for five days and [Universal said,] 'We've been watching footage and you look like a serial killer,'" said the 53-year-old actor as the audience roared with laughter.

Watch the rest of the exchange below:

Of course, the movie went on to become a major success, pulling in $109 million at the box office and another $68 million worldwide.

Best of all, audiences loved it -- especially the kooky ending where Carell starts singing.

"We would test the movie, and the place would explode," said Apatow in an interview with CinemaBlend's Eric Eisenberg at SXSW. "It would explode when Steve started singing ... It’s one of those magical things, you don’t know why it works and it makes people laugh, and it’s probably the only time you’ll ever see Seth Rogen dance like that."

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