Steve Carell recalls Jon Stewart wishing for him to be bitten by snakes and it gets funnier with every watch

Many bosses push us to our limits to bring out the best in us, and we simultaneously agree to follow their instructions to excel in our careers. However, superiors who have also climbed the same ladder enjoy the whole process of nurturing their co-workers. The same playful relationship exists between legendary talk show host Jon Stewart and American comic Steve Carell. During the 2022 edition of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Carell recalled a hilarious anecdote at The Kennedy Center (@kennedycenter on YouTube). The 62-year-old actor remembered his early career working as a correspondent on 'The Daily Show' and shared how the job nearly led to him being bitten by a snake.

During a special assignment covering a venom research facility, Carell traveled from New York to Nebraska. “When I got there, the research facility was actually a mobile home full of snakes,” the actor conveyed adding that some of the serpents were in cages and others roamed freely. During his speech honoring his former boss at the award ceremony, the comedian stated that the scientist he interviewed had been bitten by snakes multiple times. “The scientist who ran the facility had been bitten by his snakes so many times that the hospital refused to send an ambulance to his home anymore,” Carell recalled. He admitted to being terrified because of his phobia of things that could potentially kill him.

However, the comedian considered himself fortunate enough to have escaped from there safely, without any venomous bites. “Fortunately, I managed to not get bitten or squeezed to death. Jon loved the interview. As he watched it, he jokingly said over and over that it would have been great if I'd actually been bitten by a snake,” revealed Carell, prompting the long-running host of 'The Daily Show' to laugh out loud. Stewart’s wife, Tracey, and their two children sitting there were also amused by the tale, which reflected the satirist’s on-screen persona in real life. Carell quoted what his former boss had told him at the time: “That would have been great if you'd been bitten by one of those snakes. I would have loved that. That would have been so funny.”

The Golden Globe Award-winning actor then asked Stewart if he remembered the incident. By then, Stewart, already bursting into laughter, acknowledged what his former colleague was saying. The audience, meanwhile, couldn't stop laughing. During the award show, Carell also referred to Stewart as his "leader," stating that he’d do anything for him.

The nearly six-minute-long video, filled with Carell’s tongue-in-cheek humor, drew widespread attention on social media, including 6.2 million views. Among the countless reactions, @TedsHoldOver commented, “These are the friends you get when you live a life of kindness, empathy, and humor. You get what you give.”

“The best part about this speech is that Steve does not break at all during any point of it, even when he switches from comedy to genuine heartfelt words,” @beanwuzhear remarked.

You can follow The Kennedy Center (@kennedycenter) on YouTube for more entertaining content.