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Kat Dennings is recounting her first big film role — in the 2005 comedy,The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Speaking to PEOPLE for the Co-Star Photo Album series, Dennings, 39, looked at photos from the film’s premiere, saying it took place, “a thousand years ago — actually, 20 years ago.”
The hit comedy, directed by Judd Apatow, starred Steve Carell as Andy Stitzer, a 40-year-old introvert who’s had a long streak of bad luck with women. After confiding in his electronics store co-workers and friends — played by Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and Romany Malco — he becomes determined to finally lose his virginity. Carell’s character ultimately meets several romantic prospects, who are played by Catherine Keener, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann and even his own wife, Nancy Carell.
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“Catherine Keener is so beautiful and also funny and also wonderful,” Dennings said of her co-star, who played her mom in the film.
She added: “It was my first big, like, studio movie so I couldn’t believe that I was there in the first place. And I felt very nervous but everyone was so lovely nad I remember the vibe was kind of like, ‘Oh I help this works out,” And then it became a big hit.”
Dennings added that it was one of Carrell’s first big roles, saying, “everybody knows that Steve is like one of the nicest people in the world. He is the best.”
She added that the style of improv that the Apatow crew was known for was “all brand new to me and every take was completely different — and I would sit in there like, ‘Oh my god, those aren’t the lines.'”
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“And sometimes, Judd would yell a new line at you right before you shot, like, ‘Kat, say this instead…Alright, action!'” she added.
In May 2025, several of the cast members of the film came together to celebrate the movie’s 20th anniversary for a special screening in Los Angeles.
“It was the first movie that I was a part of that I really had a creative voice in, and a lot of the R-rated humor and tone came from me really advocating for that,” Rogen told PEOPLE at the time. “It was really rewarding when it came out and people really responded to both the heart and the filthiness of it.”
