Steve Carell says it was difficult to break the habit of looking directly into the camera after doing it for so many years on 'The Office'

• Steve Carell appeared on an episode of Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer's "Office Ladies" podcast.
• During the interview, he said he struggled to stop breaking the fourth wall after "The Office."
• "I have never had a job where I didn't look into the camera at some point," he said.

Steve Carell said he found it difficult not to take a bit of his "The Office" character with him on other jobs he booked after leaving the sitcom.

Making his long-awaited appearance on Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey's "Office Ladies" podcast, the actor reflected on his time on the series and admitted that he struggled to break the habit of looking directly at the camera after doing it for so many years.

Carell famously starred as chaotic boss Michael Scott in the workplace sitcom, which ran for nine seasons between 2005 and 2013 on NBC. Carell appeared in the first seven seasons before leaving.

Because of its mockumentary style format, characters regularly gave self-referential looks directly at the camera, something that most traditional television shows and movies tend to avoid.

Asked by Fischer if he's ever made the mistake of breaking the fourth wall in another project after doing it for so many years on "The Office," Carell admitted that for him, old habits do indeed die hard.

"I have never had a job where I didn't look into the camera at some point," he said.

Fischer said that she's experienced the same thing. "I can't not make the camera a character now," she said. "It's such a habit."

"At least once," Carell continued. 

He pointed to his Oscar-nominated performance in the true-crime drama "Foxcatcher" (2014), in which he played eccentric philanthropist turned murderer John du Pont, as an example of one of his more serious roles that he found himself accidentally stealing a glance at the camera.

"I'm sure on Foxcatcher,' I looked into the camera and went, 'Nope. You cannot comment on what you just did because that's not this show.'"

Kinsey recalled that a director once called her out for it and told her: "Uh, Angela, you just looked right down the barrel."

Elsewhere in the episode, Carell also discussed Michael's growth across the seven seasons his character appeared in and opened up about filming his final episode, which saw his character relocate to Colorado after getting engaged to girlfriend Holly (Amy Ryan).

"For me, there was a joy to it," he said of his sendoff. "I was ready to go, I wasn't sad for leaving."

Carell continued: "It was time for other characters to step to the forefront and other storylines to be pursued. The timing was right for everybody. 

"But simultaneously, there was just a sense of joy that we had experienced all of this. I was getting a chance to take a lap with everybody. The way those last few episodes were structured felt really rich to me as I was simultaneously saying goodbye as Michael and us as friends in this moment of work together. It was a very emotional thing."