No acting was required during The 40-Year-Old Virgin wax scene as actor Steve Carell performed it for real. The unforgettable scene made for the most iconic moment in the movie and the behind-the-scenes details make it even funnier. The 2005 R-rated comedy sees Carell play Andy Stitzer — a hapless, nerdy electronics store employee who inadvertently lets slip to his co-workers he’s still a virgin. This leads to them attempting to help his achieve that long-delayed goal, including some personal grooming in The 40-Year-Old-Virgin‘s wax scene.
Andy’s co-workers David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco), and Cal (Seth Rogen) suggest that Andy undergo painful chest waxing. The resulting scene sees poor Andy have waxy clumps of hair ripped from his chest as he unleashes a stream of expletives and hilarious non-curse words to cope, including Steve Carell shrieking Kelly Clarkson’s name at one point — which was Seth Rogen’s idea, apparently. It’s important to note that part of what makes The 40-Year-Old Virgin so funny is that a good deal of the banter between characters is improvised. Unfortunately for Steve Carell, the wince-inducing wax scene was off the cuff too.
The 40-Year-Old Virgin Waxing Scene Was Real
Steve Carell’s screams of pain were all real and captured documentary-style with the help of a four-camera set-up. The rest of the cast’s reactions — Paul Rudd giggling in the background, Seth Rogen cringing, and Romany Malco looking horrified and having to leave the room — were real too. And who does Steve Carell have to blame for The 40-Year-Old Virgin’s waxing scene and all the pain it caused him? Nobody but himself. Carell co-wrote the script alongside director Judd Apatow, and not only was the waxing scene his suggestion, but it was also his idea to get his chest hair waxed for real.
Why Steve Carell’s Waxing Scene Was So Painful
What makes this 40-Year-Old Virgin scene all the more horrifying is that the actress playing the waxing lady (Miki Mia) assured the casting department she had previous waxing experience but didn’t really know what she was doing. Her inexperience in the hair removal department meant she neglected to apply a protective layer of Vaseline on Carell’s nipples before waxing.
Besides, professionals (and people who simply know the correct technique) apply the wax in the direction the hair grows naturally and remove it in the opposite direction. Since chest hair tends to have a more irregular pattern than, say, arm hair or leg hair, it’s more appropriate to remove carefully-ordered patches instead of random spots in the torso. This also helps avoid waxing off an area twice, as the skin becomes extremely sensitive after one pass, let alone two. The final mistake was not applying any kind of soothing gel after waxing, which is crucial to avoid further irritation and possible infection.
In Steve Carell’s first movie as the lead, he put himself on the line. If his genuine screams of pain weren’t enough proof that he was really suffering while filming the iconic The 40-Year-Old Virgin waxing scene, tiny specks of blood and clearly irritated skin show just how rough the process was. Steve Carell may have been willing to lose all his chest hair for the sake of his craft, even if he had to go through hell to achieve it. Luckily, a crew member stopped Miki Mia before Carell lost a nipple in the name of comedy.
Paul Rudd Didn’t Believe One Thing About The Wax Scene
Like Steve Carell, Paul Rudd’s movie career has gotten huge since the 2005 comedy, but The 40-Year-Old-Virgin wax scene is still one of the highlights of his many projects. Rudd confirms (via GQ) many of the much-discussed aspects of the scene including shooting with multiple cameras as there was no way to get a second take. He also doesn’t believe Miki Mia had any waxing experience as she claimed which only added to the tension. However, Rudd also admits that the cast was playing up the scene for comedic effect and casts doubts on some rumors, saying “I don’t know if it’s true that Romany really did get queasy and wanted to leave.” Regardless of some potential embellishments, The 40-Year-Old-Virgin wax scene remains iconic.
