The behind-the-scenes stories of The 40-Year-Old Virgin are much more fascinating and hilarious than just a bag of sand.
It was not until he was 37 years old that Judd Apatow had his first experience. In other words, it was not until he was far into his fourth decade that the renowned producer, who now owns an entire film and television empire, directed a film of his own. The 40-Year-Old Virgin was that premiere, starring Steve Carell (who is actually a married father of two) as Andy, a super-nice guy who works as a salesclerk at an electronics store and respects women so much that he has never had the guts to approach one.
When the movie was released in 2005, Apatow, now 57, revealed, "Before this I did a TV show called Freaks and Geeks," "and I thought, 'Well, I guess this is like, what if one of the geeks never had sex and it's 20 years later, and what's he gonna do?' And it would still be really funny and sweet, and you'd root for him."
The 40-Year-Old Virgin went on to establish Apatow as a producer of unrepentantly lengthy, bawdy comedy with a touch of sensitivity, primarily about good-hearted but emotionally immature men who play a funny game.
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Additionally, it was a success, earning over $177 million at the global box office.
In an August 13 episode of Ted Danson's Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast, which was recorded in advance of the 20th anniversary of the R-rated comedy, Apatow stated, "Steve has such a big heart." "At the beginning of the process, we were like, 'What if we took this very seriously, like emotionally?' Not just like a big dumbass movie."
Rather, they aimed to analyze "what his problem is, what emotionally he needs to get over his shame, his sense of feeling less-than, and his insecurities, and really write to the truth of it," the director explained.
However, a lot of moving parts needed to come together before they could even think of the movie's climax.
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