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 The 56-year-old "The Office" and "Foxcatcher" star plays
American photographer Mark Hogancamp, who in 2000 was viciously
assaulted outside a bar after telling a group of guys he liked
to cross dress.
Haunted by the attack, Hogancamp turns to art, building a
miniature Belgian village during World War Two in his garden,
where he uses dolls to re-enact scenes.
"He went through such a traumatic experience and I wanted to
impress upon him that his story meant a lot to me and I think to
everyone involved with the making of the movie,” Carell told
Reuters.
"The inspiration to me is to portray somebody like that who in
the face of such adversity retained his humanity."
The dolls are brought to life in the film and led by Carell's
computer-animated U.S. army pilot Hogie and his band of machine
gun-carrying women inspired by people Hogancamp knows. They
include a neighbor, friend and carer, played by Leslie Mann,
Janelle Monae and Gwendoline Christie.
"All of the closest people in his world are women… He surrounds
himself with women and that gives him strength," Carell said.
The actor, who describes Hogie as a "much, much better looking
version of me", had to practice walking in heels as his
character likes to wear women's shoes.
"It's hard to make it look natural," he said. "I can't
comprehend how anyone would do that on a daily basis."
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"Welcome to Marwen" is directed by Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis,
known for "Back to the Future" and "Forrest Gump".
"I thought wouldn't it be magnificent to be able to go into his
imagination and see the way he actually in his mind brings these
dolls to life," Zemeckis said.
"We built the dolls and we had a wardrobe for them… and then we
scanned them… and when the actors act their movement, their
performances translate it onto the doll."
"Welcome to Marwen" is the latest dramatic role taken on by Carell,
known for making audiences laugh in films like "Anchorman" and "The
40-Year-Old Virgin".
"It's really just the scripts that I've been offered and the things
that were appealing to me… It wasn't a conscious decision a move
away from comedy," he said. "I'm sure I'll be doing that again at
some point."
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian;
Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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