Wildcats Daily

Northwestern Basketball Player Has Moment With Steve Carell

The A-list actor was the commencement speaker at graduation this weekend.

Ryan Cole

Mar 8, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Northwestern Wildcats center Keenan Fitzmorris (5) handles the ball against Maryland Terrapins forward Julian Reese (10) during the first half at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
Mar 8, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Northwestern Wildcats center Keenan Fitzmorris (5) handles the ball against Maryland Terrapins forward Julian Reese (10) during the first half at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
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This weekend, Northwestern's graduation festivities took place for the class of 2025, culminating in a commencement ceremony on Sunday. At the ceremony, actor Steve Carell gave the commencement address, and he shared an entertaining moment with one notable member of the audience.

That audience member would be fan-favorite Northwestern Basketball center Keenan Fitzmorris. In a video posted on X by the team, Carell appears to pick Fitzmorris out of the crowd and runs over to him to give him an excited high-five.

Fitzmorris was pumped up in the video, which Wildcat fans know is essentially his resting state. The seven-footer didn't get a ton of playing time in his one season in Evanston (8.9 minutes per game), but he was beloved as a result of his obvious hustle and intensity.

Nobody shows more emotion out on the court than Fitzmorris, celebrating his own impressive moments as well as all of his teammates'. Fans got one more good look at a patented Fitzmorris hyped up yell as he greeted Carell in the video.

Carell has had a long career in Hollywood, with credits spanning genres. He got his start as a comedic actor and is perhaps best known for his role as Michael Scott in the hit show "The Office." As a young comic, he spent time at Chicago's 'The Second City' comedy club, one of his connections to the Chicago-land area.

Frankly, you couldn't have scripted this any better. Of course it was the fiery Fitzmorris who had this moment with the A-list star, and it produced a video clip for the ages.

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Ryan Cole
RYAN COLE

Ryan Cole is a writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI covering every team on campus. He’s currently a junior at NU where he’s studying journalism and previously wrote and edited for Inside NU. He also studies business with an eye towards eventually helping develop business models to revive local news. In his free time, Cole enjoys watching sports, playing sports, reading the news and singing.

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