Steve Carell was a fife-playing colonial reenactor while growing up in Mass.

The Acton native admitted he "geeked out and got into it" in high school.

Steve Carell discusses playing a Revolutionary War-era reenactor with Seth Meyers. NBC

June 30, 2022

With Fourth of July only days away, Massachusetts residents can soon expect to see plenty of people don Revolutionary War-era garb to march in parades, give tours, and listen to the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence. And if this were 1978 instead of 2022, you might have seen Steve Carell among the costumed crew.

Ahead of Friday’s release of “The Office” star’s new family-friendly movie “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” the Acton native stopped by “Late Night With Seth Meyers” on Wednesday, where the pair ended up discussing Carell’s high school hobby.

“I grew up in a town outside of Boston, and all of these little towns had their own minutemen corps,” Carell said. “It wasn’t really for reenacting, it’s like mostly parades, the Fourth of July.

“I wanted to be a part of it, and so did my brother,” Carell continued. “He learned to play the drum, and I learned how to play fife. So we got dressed up in our little costumes and marched around, and that was kind of it.”

Carell later talked about becoming more serious about his hobby, switching sides in high school to join the British as part of His Majesty’s 10th Regiment of Foot, where he “geeked out and got into it.”

“That’s a cool thing to do,” Meyers said.

“No it wasn’t!” Carell replied. “Don’t say that! I mean, everyone out there is going, ‘Cool thing to do? That kid must have been a winner in high school.'”

This isn’t the first time Carell has brought up his 18th-century cosplay on a talk show. During a 2010 chat with David Letterman, Carell actually whipped out his fife and played a colonial tune for the studio audience.

“I did it for a few years, and had no girlfriends during that time,” Carell deadpanned.