WILL FERRELL (Franz Liebkind) completed his seventh and final season on the legendary NBC late-night hit Saturday Night Live in 2002, having taken the nation by storm during “Indecision 2000” by impersonating President George W. Bush on the show. Some of his most memorable SNL characters include Craig the Spartan Cheerleader, the musical middle school teacher Marty Culp and Tom Wilkins, the hyperactive co-host of Morning Latte. Among his many impressions are Janet Reno, Alex Trebek, Neil Diamond and the late, great Chicago Cubs sportscaster Harry Caray. His work on SNL garnered him two prestigious Emmy Award nominations in 2001 for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program and for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program.
In the feature film world, Ferrell helped bring in big numbers for Old School for DreamWorks Pictures and Road Trip for director Todd Phillips. Old School follows three men who are dissatisfied with their lives. In an effort to recapture the youthful feelings of their college days, they move in together in a large house near their old college campus that quickly becomes the hub of the campus party activity. Ferrell starred opposite Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson.
Ferrell opened his first lead feature, Elf (for New Line Cinema and director Jon Favreau), at number one for two weekends in a row. The film made the ranks as the seventh highest grossing film of 2003, with current worldwide box office earnings at over $218 million. In the film, he plays a man who is raised from infancy as an elf after accidentally falling into Santa’s gift sack during Christmas and stars alongside Bob Newhart, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel and Edward Asner as Santa Claus.
In the summer of 2004, Ferrell starred in the comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy for DreamWorks Pictures, which grossed over $85 million domestically. Ferrell co-wrote the script with SNL writer Adam McKay. Judd Apatow (Freaks and Geeks) produced, with David O. Russell (Three Kings) executive producing. Ferrell portrayed Ron Burgundy, a 1970s anchorman with an inflated ego who becomes threatened by the arrival of an ambitious female newscaster who, unlike Burgundy, has mastered journalism. In March 2005, Ferrell starred in the Woody Allen feature Melinda and Melinda, as part of an ensemble cast including Josh Brolin, Brooke Smith, Amanda Peet, Zak Orth, Wallace Shawn, Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Gene Saks and Vinessa Shaw for Fox Searchlight.
Next Ferrell was seen in the May 2005 comedy Kicking And Screaming for Universal Pictures. In the film he played a man who coaches his young son’s soccer team. The film follows him as he and his team are pitted against his father’s (Robert Duvall) and its star player—his son from a new marriage. He also starred in this summer’s feature-length remake of Bewitched, with Nicole Kidman.
At the end of the year, Will Ferrell will be seen in the drama Winter Passing with Ed Harris, Zooey Deschanel and Amelia Warner. The film tells the story of a young woman who returns to her estranged father’s home to discover that a strange cast of characters has moved in.
Ferrell has co-starred in two ensemble comedies. In the fashion-world-themed Zoolander, he starred opposite Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson—playing Mugatu, an over-the-top fashion designer. In Dimensions Films’ Kevin Smith-helmed, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back he played an ambitious park ranger. In 2000, Ferrell graced the big screen in the Paramount Pictures/ SNL feature The Ladies Man starring SNL castmate Tim Meadows. Prior to The Ladies Man, he starred in Superstar for Paramount opposite another SNL castmate, Molly Shannon; the TriStar/Phoenix Pictures Nixon parody Dick; and in the Paramount comedy, A Night at the Roxbury, which he co-wrote with castmate Chris Kattan and Steve Koran. Ferrell debuted as a feature film star in the Jay Roach hit Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
Raised in Irvine, California, Ferrell attended the University of Southern California and graduated with a degree in sports information. Upon graduation, he worked as a sportscaster on a weekly show broadcast over a local cable channel. Soon after, he enrolled in acting classes and stand-up comedy workshops at a nearby community college. Ultimately, he was asked to join the esteemed comedy/improv group The Groundlings after just one year of training. It was at The Groundlings that Ferrell was discovered for Saturday Night Live.
Movie Database
In Theaters
(241 votes)
(206 votes)
(16 votes)
(202 votes)
(98 votes)
(418 votes)
(28 votes)