Carell 'in awe' of leading ladies (From Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News)

Carell 'in awe' of leading ladies

9:23am Friday 22nd June 2012 in National Entertainment News © Press Association 2013

Steve Carell has admitted he's overawed to be working with some of Hollywood's most respected leading ladies.

The comedian, who came to fame on the US adaptation of The Office, stars with Keira Knightley in new apocalyptic comedy-drama Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World, and will appear alongside Meryl Streep in Hope Springs this summer.

"To go from Keira Knightley to Meryl Streep - how did that happen to the guy from the sitcom?" he joked at his latest film's premiere in Los Angeles.

Describing Meryl as "gracious", he said: "I think she spends a lot of her life diffusing the fact that she's Meryl Streep, and putting people at ease and being accommodating and accessible.

"She's a great actor, but she works at it, you see her into it, she loves doing it."

Hope Springs stars Meryl and Tommy Lee Jones as a long-married couple who decide to go to intensive counselling sessions with a therapist, played by Steve.