Having starred in such television classics as "Mary Tyler Moore" and "Lou Grant," as well as hundreds of other films and television projects, legendary actor Ed Asner thought he had enough career highs on his show business resume to last a lifetime.

That is, until Pixar Animation Studio's "Up," an Oscar contender for both Best Animated Feature and Best Picture, and the voice role of Carl Fredricksen came along.

"The role was a total surprise," Asner said in a recent @ The Movies interview. "I was just thinking in terms of money at first and the prestige of being in a Pixar picture -- but the longer I worked on the role and the more I see the film now, the more I love the character. I love this film and what Carl represents."

Asner voices Carl Fredricksen, a grumpy, 78-year-old balloon salesman saddened by the fact that he never fulfilled with his wife their lifelong dream of taking a trip to South America. But when he faces the prospect of spending the rest of his days in a retirement home, Carl gets creative fast and inflates thousands of balloons to carry him, his house and an accidental stowaway southward.

Playfully grumpy and brutally honest, the 79-year-old Asner is a straight shooter when it comes to talking about his profession. That includes being humble when he realized that he was merely one of the thousands of people it took to truly make a Pixar animated film work.

"Well frankly, during the past year and a half that I worked on the film, it was highly inflating to my ego. I began to walk that way, even," Asner said. "Then, when I went to see the first screening of the movie, what a revelation it was. It punctured my balloon to see all of the unbelievable art up there on the screen that I only added a grace note to."

Director Pete Docter gives Asner substantially more credit than that, and stressed how the veteran Emmy winner's presence was vital to the production.

"He's such of a perfect guy for the role. He does this great, grouchy curmudgeon character, but also makes him likable," Docter said. "He's also kind of like that as a person. He'd come into the studio to record with us and (mimicking grumbling) say, 'You again!' But as he would leave, he would shake your hand, warmly and say, 'Thank you so much.' You really get the sense that he loves what he's doing."

While he and Carl share many of the same characteristics ("except for the square jaw and the hair," the bald actor joked), Asner said that he wouldn't dare compare himself to the character and the principals he upholds.

"There's far less deviousness to Carl than me -- I'm an actor. I love finding characters that, in the end, makes me realize, 'I wish I would have been more like him,'" Asner said. "When I think of Carl, I tend to think of an ideal man, not a grouchy, old sucker. I think of somebody who is wise beyond his years and is finer than most mortals, and represents somebody we should all look up to and emulate."