The Improvised Steve Carell Line That Changed Anchorman Forever

According to Rolling Stone, and a fan base with a penchant for jazz flute and aftershave made from actual panthers, Adam McKay's "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" is thought to be one of the funniest films ever made. The "true story" of San Diego's most beloved news anchor backed by the Channel 6 news team is a classic crammed with quotes that have made their way into daily conversation. Advising people to "stay classy'" and ensuring that 60% of the time, something works every time is just a way of life now. What's most impressive, of course, is just how much of it was all improvised.

Less lightning in a bottle and more a hearty dose of helium, "Anchorman" assembled an incredible collection of comedic firepower that threw off-the-cuff one-liners at each other like hilarious hand grenades. Coincidentally, the biggest culprit for these spontaneous side-splitters also gave us one of the film's most iconic. A line that, out of context and on its own, would make you question if whoever uttered it was just a little bit broken. Instead, it was a light bulb moment from Steve Carell that showed just how much of a funny genius he is.

It's probably been uttered in the lighting department of furniture stores worldwide, but Steve Carell declaring that he loved lamps was totally unexpected. During the Channel 6 team's conversation of just what love is, worryingly slow weatherman Brick Tamland (Carell) shares his love for things that coincidentally happen to be in his eye line. "I love carpet," he says, as well as "I love desk" before a heartfelt admittance of "I love lamp." As it turns out, the actor added these romantic declarations because, as far as the script showed, he had absolutely nothing else to say.

Speaking to Vulture in 2018, Carell revealed that the random moment was added because Brick originally had very little to contribute. "Adam [McKay] was like, 'We should have more lines for you, but we don't have any on the page.' He literally said, 'Just say something,' and hence came 'I ate a big red candle' and 'I love lamp,'" recalled Carell. As genius as it was, the origins of why are pretty much on the same wavelength as Brick's way of thinking. "The 'I love lamp' thing was just me at the end of a scene staring at a lamp and I said 'I love lamp' and Will [Ferrell] picked up on it and said, 'You're just saying things you're looking at.'" Simple yet effective, it remains a brilliantly bright idea from Carell that became a nugget of comedy gold and treasured ever since.