Steve Carell taps into dramatic side in 'Foxcatcher'

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Steve Carell is almost unrecognizable as eccentric millionaire John du Pont in the new drama, "Foxcatcher." It's based on the true story of du Pont and two champion wrestler brothers, played by Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo.

In the film, du Pont sees himself as an Olympic caliber wrestling coach. Carell did plenty of research and talked to several people about the man he plays.

"There wasn't a lot of love or joy in his life," Carell said. "And I think if you start from that, that here's just a very lonely sad person who is surrounded by wealth and really insulated and isolated by it, it's -- that's an incredibly tragic character from the get-go."

Carell says he was surprised director Bennett Miller even considered him for this role.

"This wasn't a list that I thought I'd be on, you know?" said Carell. "And when I got the call and was sent the script to meet with him, it was, it was surprising but we hit it off."

"I think it's important for actors to surprise you," Miller said. "The moment you see a film where an actor is basically doing what you expect from them based on some other performance, the thing sort of goes flat."

Carell had to alter his look dramatically for this role. I asked him how much time he had to spend in the makeup chair each day.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Carell joked. "I just re-configured my own face."

Carell gives the credit to makeup artist Bill Corso.

"du Pont had a very large nose and he had a very specific look to him, a way of carrying himself. So there was about three hours every morning."

You can see Carell's transformation in "Foxcatcher" in theaters now. It's rated R.