He gives thoughtful gifts

Paul Feig, who directed the finale, described the bounty the actor gave away at his farewell party in an interview with the Los Angeles Times::

"You definitely saw presents being handed around. Steve was even giving out presents to the cast and the crew. I remember seeing them delivered to people’s dressing rooms. But they must've been very personal, because people weren’t really sharing what they got."

His gifts aren't always as tangible. During the 2007 writers' strike, Carell, in a show of solidarity, called in sick with case of "enlarged balls." Without the show's star, production on new episodes was quickly abandoned.

He brings out the best in his peers

Feig told E! that in tonight's episode "everyone gets a moment [with Carell] that you would want them to have." All the tears shed in the wake of his departure are a "a proper outpouring of emotion for a man who is completely deserving of getting that much [attention].". He elaborated on Carell's ability to elevate his fellow performers in an interview with IFC: "Steve's just one of the best comedic actors...just best actors, period, but he has an ability to ground everything,"

He makes people cry

About those tears. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Carell was filming his final scenes. Don't take our word for it: In their own words, here are members of the cast and crew describing how they struggled to keep their emotions under control during those last days.

I definitely cried on the last day. Wasn’t expecting it and then the last scene of the day was our goodbye of characters. We hadn’t said goodbye and so that was an incredibly existential black hole. It was like way too much happening. So there were definitely tears.” -- John Krasinski ("Jim")

"[Co-star] Angela [Kinsey] and I have cried a lot and that's the hardest thing to let go of." -- Jenna Fischer ("Pam")

"[T]he last day of shooting with Steve was more intense than I anticipated it would be,” Wilson continued. “There actually wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It was really sad. It was very difficult to make comedy when there was a heaviness hanging over the proceedings." -- Rainn Wilson ("Dwight")

"I had a Dr. Seuss quote engraved on [a desk clock he gave to Carell] -- 'Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened' -- because that's how I faced [Carell's last] week "-- Paul Feig

"It was really emotional. We cried a lot. All of us." -- Angela Kinsey ("Angela")

Feig recalls things were particularly glum while filming an all cast singalong to the Rent song "Seasons of Love" for last week's episode.It was so emotional!," said Feig. "I was prepping [for the next episode] and my assistant said, 'You should come down here.' The first time they started singing that song, everyone choked up in real life. It really started to land for people that the end is coming."

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.