Steve Carell in Foxcatcher

(UPDATE: At the time this article was originally posted, the official release date for the film was December 20th. Sony Pictures Classics just released a statement saying that the release of the film has now been pushed back to an undisclosed date in 2014 in order to give the filmmaker more time to finish the film).

Fresh off of his acclaimed performance in this summer’s indie-hit The Way, Way Back, Steve Carell is continuing to avoid the nice-guy typecast that made him famous in 40 Year Old Virgin and Crazy Stupid Love, with his darker role in the upcoming Foxcatcher.

In August, Mxdwn had reported that Foxcatcher was going to be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, with no official release date. Now it has been confirmed that Foxcatcher is set for a December 2oth release. The official trailer (seen below) was released today teases a chilling performance by Steve Carell, whose appearance has been altered by prosthetic make-up. In the film Carell plays millionaire paranoid-schizophrenic John du Pont, with Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo playing Mark and David Shultz (respectively).

With the three top-billed actors playing heavily against their typical roles, in a film being released in December (a month where studios release films they hope to be considered for award nominations) , it’s no surprise that Foxcatcher is already getting media buzz about being a heavy award contender.