Steve, in real life

NEW YORK - Even in real life, Steve Carell can't escape comparisons to Michael Scott, the lovable boob of a boss he plays on the NBC sitcom "The Office."

It doesn't matter that he's come to our Manhattan breakfast interview dressed in jeans and zip-up sweatshirt, or that he's shorter and slighter than he appears onscreen. When the Massachusetts-bred actor declares that today's opening of his newest film, "Dan in Real Life," has him "pushing it hard," the "Office" fan's instant mental response is: "That's what she said."

And that's not always the best thing for his movies.

The last time the Globe interviewed Carell at length, he was on the verge of a major breakthrough. America's version of "The Office" was gaining in popularity and the underrated comic's prescient big-screen collaboration with writer-director Judd Apatow on "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" was about to make him a bona fide movie star. Fast forward two years, past a critically acclaimed performance in "Little Miss Sunshine" and a reported $5 million paycheck for the roundly panned "Evan Almighty," and now some fans are wondering if a middle-of-the-road romantic comedy such as "Dan in Real Life" can stand up to the glare of this entertainer's defining roles.

At this point, audiences expect Carell to be funny, preferably in a patented way that is outrageous and inappropriate but has an underlying sweetness to it. They also expect him to be memorable, even when he's delivering something as dark and beautifully understated as his performance in "Little Miss Sunshine." That's a tall order for "Dan," where the whole idea is supposed to be average characters and quasi-believable storytelling. So it's a good thing that Carell isn't inclined to feel pressured by expectations.

"My goal is to set the bar really low for myself and never have people expecting much of anything from me," the 45-year-old says with a laugh. "That way if I do anything even moderately appealing, they'll be pleasantly surprised."

The less flip answer is that he never set out to be either a "mega conglomerate," as he jokes he is now, or a comic. After growing up in Acton and graduating from Denison University in Ohio, he moved to Chicago to pursue being an actor and avoid being a lawyer. Eventually he landed a job at the famed Second City comedy troupe, where he not only honed improv skills but also met his future wife, comic/actress and Cohasset native Nancy Walls. He then went on to be a correspondent for "The Daily Show" and a cast member of several failed sitcoms, as well as a supporting player in movies stretching from "Curly Sue" to "Bewitched."

In "Dan in Real Life," Carell plays a widowed advice columnist prone to over-protecting three fast-growing daughters. After he meets his soul mate (Juliette Binoche) during a vacation at his family's idyllic Rhode Island beach house, he's crushed to discover she's dating his charismatic brother (played by fellow Bay State native Dane Cook) and wouldn't you know they're all stuck with each other for the duration of the visit.

The movie is directed by Peter Hedges ("Pieces of April") who shares writing credit with Pierce Gardner. The director explained in a recent phone interview that he chose to film in Rhode Island in part to appeal to Carell, who has family in the Boston area and a vacation home in Marshfield. He says he wanted Dan to be played by "one of the great comedians" but it had to be "someone who wanted to mix it up - you laugh with them but they also break your heart."

Hedges insists that his screenplay did not encourage spontaneous contributions, despite moments when he thought: "I'm an idiot. We've got [Carell and Cook] and I'm not improvising?" Still, he acknowledges the value of hiring a highly likable star with exceptional instincts, and he likens his leading man to Steve Martin - a comparison that not every moviegoer will consider a compliment.

Carell is nevertheless flattered.

He can't quite fathom how he came to be mentioned in the same sentence as the man whose 1978 "A Wild and Crazy Guy" album and tour remain a key inspiration. Carell is the antithesis of a stand-up rock star such as Martin, or Cook for that matter; he's the humble and pragmatic guy who remembers celebrating his first big success by buying a decent vacuum cleaner. Ask him how his life has changed since our 2005 interview and he answers: "Less than you would imagine. I have more money, my children's college education is taken care of . . . but it's not like I'm going to better parties, because I don't go to parties."

His one significant leap in status has come in the personal style department: "Now I will buy my clothes at Banana Republic as opposed to the Gap," he concedes. "That to me is really living large."

Carell spouts the same general line in answering questions about his work options.

"I tend to choose movies that I am offered," he says dryly. "There's been so little rhyme or reason to anything, and very little predetermined direction in terms of career choices. I've just gotten lucky."

Fair enough. But since he acknowledges talking with the red-hot Apatow ("Knocked Up") about a possible reunion project, is there anything high on Carell's to-do list after next year's release of "Get Smart" and the animated "Horton Hears a Who!"?

"I can't even think that far ahead," the father of two insists. "I'm always flabbergasted that I've been able to do what I've done so far. So everything that comes along is a pleasant surprise."

And that includes "Dan in Real Life," he says, regardless of where it ultimately sits on his resume.

Carell has a wide, ready smile that grows even brighter when he recalls filming in Rhode Island, including the night the whole cast rehearsed by serenading him over dinner at their fictional family home. Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney presided over the gathering as his pretend parents, Cook sang "Wind Beneath My Wings," and Carell sat back and soaked it all in.

"We straddled the reality there," notes the "Dan in Real Life" star with a laugh.

That's what she said.

Janice Page can be reached at jpage@globe.com. For more on movies, go to boston.com/ae/movies/blog.