The Steve Carell Appearance On Pawn Stars You Forgot About

Is it just us or does everyone dream about running into celebrities in such a way that a normal conversation might be possible, without fear of alerting the paparazzi or provoking an undesired response from said celebrity? When a certain star wandered into the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop one fine day, most members of the staff recognized him instantly. The subtle stalking started with Corey, who did exactly what must be done in such a situation. He kept his distance and double-checked with his co-worker.

"Chum," he said, nodding his chin in the customer's general direction. "Is that Steve Carell?"

Soon, the three of them — Corey, Chumlee, and Rick, were huddled behind the counter, watching and chattering (bickering, really) about whether it could really be him. "Go ask him," Corey urged, as the camera focused on a not-too-tall, bespectacled gentleman, shopping unnoticed among the other customers.

Finally, they sent Rick out as a scout. "I'll go ask him," he agreed gamely with a shrug, as if to say, "What's the big deal?"

As Rick set out to get answers, his father, Richard Benjamin Harrison, Jr. grumbled nearby: "Who in the hell is Steve Carell?" For those who need a refresher course, here it is.

Carell is perhaps best known these days for his portrayal of hapless boss Michael Scott on the long-running series "The Office." He's also starred in several films over the years, including 2005's "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," 2006's "Little Miss Sunshine," 2011's "Crazy, Stupid, Love," and 2017's "Battle of the Sexes." He's General Mark R. Naird in Netflix's "Space Force," Mitch Kessler in AppleTV+'s "The Morning Show," and the voice of Gru in the "Despicable Me" movies. In other words, he's everywhere — a household name bound to be recognized by fans any time he dares to navigate public spaces.

The question was: Would Carell randomly roll into the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, just to have a look around? There was only one way for the Harrisons to find out.

As "Pawn Stars" viewers know, Rick doesn't beat around the bush. He walked right up to the customer in question and asked, "Are you Steve Carell?"

"No, I get that a lot," the man replied with a smile. "I'm not."

That could have been the end of it, but for two things: The man was obviously lying. And, Rick attempted to end the conversation by putting his foot in his mouth. He commented that, of course, this man couldn't be Steve Carell; he knew Carell was much shorter. At that, the man took offense. "What do you mean 'a lot shorter'?" he asked. "Everybody thinks I'm 5'8.""

Rick tried again. "So you are Steve Carell?" he asked.

By this point, the truth was clear. The whole thing was a bit, and perhaps it was meant to go on a while longer. But Rick and Carell cracked up, ending the joke. As it turned out, Carell was in the shop not only to cause a kerfuffle but also to actually buy something. He was interested in a World War II dive knife, and Rick was more than happy to show him one.

Rick pulled out a multipurpose dive knife, and Carell was impressed with the serrated edge as he took it from its sheath. He had to wonder, though, what a diver would need such a knife for, exactly. The answer from Rick was somewhat surprising. "For when they have diver wars," he said.

Carell was fascinated and quickly got down to business. The going price for such an item, he was informed, was $2,500. Surely, that wasn't out of range for the multimillionaire actor. "You know what, that seems a little low," he said. "I will give you $4,000."

Going along with the game, Rick bumped it up to $5,000, and pushing it further, Carell offered $5,500. But while Rick was all for a good joke, he wasn't about to fleece a customer. Bringing it back down to $3,200, he put out his hand to make a fair deal.

In the end, the pair cracked up again and it wasn't really clear if Carell bought the knife or not. But he promised he'd be back, maybe next time as a seller.