graduation

Steve Carell has done it again, this time at Northwestern University. Although he's not officially an alum of the school (he's a Denison University man), he's connected by his kids: one is an alum and another is about to graduate.

Introduced by the Dean of the School of Communications, Carell (in full university graduate regalia) takes the stage to give a nine-minute speech, which is truly hilarious and heartwarming in equal measure. He begins by telling everyone that it's an "honor, a privilege and an enormous pain in the a**" to be invited to speak.

Steve Carell gives a speech at Northwestern University graduation.www.youtube.com, TLOCK1971

He then shares the topics he considered when writing the speech: "Things like finding the courage to be yourself. Or how do you leave the world a better place? And who the hell is Big X the Plug? Where does he get off dropping out of Dillo Day?" This gets a huge round of applause.

Carell goes on to make brilliantly self-deprecating jokes, sprinkling in his trademark depth and kindness. Which also happens to be the topic he lands on: "My topic this morning is kindness. So please shut up and listen."

Steve Carell dances as Michael Scott.Giphy Peacock, NBC

He speaks for a while, captivating the audience: "Another stumbling block of kindness is the act of holding a grudge. We've all done it and it's an easy trap to fall into. Eighteen years ago, I attended the Academy Awards for the first time. As I walked down the red carpet, I was nervous, anxious and I felt terribly out of place. And then I stepped on the dress of a very famous actress, stopping her in her tracks. She turned around and was so mean to me, that I held a grudge against her for 17 years.

And then a year ago, we ran into each other again." He pauses. "And you know what? I was right the first time. She is horrible. So I guess what I'm saying is that 99 percent of cases, grudge holding is completely a waste of time. But the other one percent–it can be extremely satisfying."

As funny and uplifting as his words were, what happens next is where the true joy comes in. He asks the crowd to stand and after a few false starts with music, the DJ finally settles on The Ting Tings' "That's Not My Name." Steve begins dancing (complete with adorable "white man's overbite") and students and professors join in. But he actually kicks it up a notch when the Dean of the School of Communications (Dean Patrick Johnson) starts dancing too. They're so in sync, it almost feels choreographed.

Carell then bounces down off the stage, waving his hands like he's in a gospel choir and begins high-fiving the extremely excited students in the crowd.

To thunderous applause, he then returns to the podium for the rest of his speech, joking, "That was as invigorating as it was disturbing." He tries to earnestly continue speaking, but is understandably out of breath from the rigorous dancing. He is finally able to eke out, "I will forever be connected to Northwestern and to Chicago. My daughter is a Northwestern grad, and my son will graduate next year."

Upworthy spoke to Lara Heimann, a proud mom to her Northwestern graduating daughter, Olivia. She was there that morning and tells us about Steve's ties with the school and Chicago, in general. "He did Second City and has ties with Northwestern grads like Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert."

Surprisingly, she shares, "I don't think the dance was choreographed at all. It looked very spontaneous. He started moving around and then went back to the dean who is the Dean of Communications. He introduced him and said some really funny things, like 'We've been asking him for a long time to give a speech, so this is a long time coming. That's what she said.'" (Of course, that's a little wink to Carell's infamous character from The Office, Michael Scott.)

Michael Scott is awkward. Giphy, NBC

Carell ends the second part of his speech with his personal words of wisdom. To name a few: "Hold the door for people, regardless of their gender, age or political affiliation. Be wary of those who use ChatGBT for personal emails. Never pick your nose in a car at a stoplight. Someone is watching you and it's grossing them out. Keep in touch with your friends that you've made here. Time goes by quickly. And as evidenced from before…just dance."

Finally, he adds, "Remember the little things, like being kind. And that you're not alone. Take care of one another. Remember to laugh when you have the opportunity. And to cry when necessary. And keep in mind, that as badly as you feel about the state of the world, your parents probably feel worse. Use that, take advantage of that. Now is the perfect time to exploit your parents' guilt…they might even let you live in the basement for an extra six months."