Will Ferrell
AKA
John William Ferrell
Born:
16-Jul
-
1967
Birthplace:
Irvine, CA
Gender:
Male
Race or Ethnicity:
White
Sexual orientation:
Straight
Occupation:
Comic
Nationality:
United States
Executive summary:
Saturday Night Live
Will Ferrell was a class clown, but high school administrators harnessed his talent by having Ferrell read the morning announcements over the public address system, in assorted silly and disguised voices. In college, Ferrell was still causing trouble. "I would find out what classroom certain friends were in," Ferrell says, "and then dress up as a janitor and show up in the middle of class. There was a high level English class and the teacher actually encouraged me. He would see me on campus and say 'Come by in two weeks and just screw around.' So I would stand outside the door with a power drill and just pretend like I was working on stuff, so I'd do stuff like that. And I killed one person."
He worked as a sportscaster on a local cable station, where management wanted him to read scores and cover sports, but Ferrell found such facts instantly tedious and stifling. Ferrell started showing up at coffee houses on open mike nights, and appearing at comedy clubs. In 1991, he signed up for workshops with The Groundlings improv group. After a few months, he was invited to be a Groundling himself, and worked with
Chris Kattan
and Ana Gasteyer.
In 1995, he joined the cast of
Saturday Night Live
. In his first sketch, he played a suburban husband hosting the neighbors for a barbecue, interrupting the chit-chat to shout psychotic threats at his off-screen children. "Get off the shed! Get off the damn shed!... I will punch you in the face if you don't get off the shed!" Over the next seven seasons, he became an audience favorite, as
George W. Bush
, Cubs sportscaster Harry Caray, Craig the cheerleader, middle school teacher Marty Culp,
Robert Goulet
, nude model Terrence Maddox,
Janet Reno
, and
Alex Trebek
. In one of many one-time sketches, he provided "more cowbell" for
Blue Oyster Cult
, on
Christopher Walken
's command.
SNL
's skits with Ferrell were almost always at least semi-funny, and the show's writers worked Ferrell into more and more skits.
While on
SNL
, Ferrell and Kattan took a recurring skit about head-bopping losers and expanded it into a feature film,
A Night at the Roxbury
, which flopped disastrously. Ferrell also appeared in supporting roles and cameos in numerous other comedies, including amusing turns as henchmen in
Zoolander
and
Austin Powers
flicks, and as skulking journalist
Bob Woodward
in the
Watergate
comedy
Dick
. He has since blossomed as a funny leading man in
Old School
,
Anchorman
, and
Stranger than Fiction
.
Father:
Lee Farrell (keyboardist,
The Righteous Brothers
)
Mother:
Kay Overman Farrell
Brother:
Patrick Ferrell (b. 1970)
Wife:
Viveca Paulson (art auctioneer, m. 12-Aug-2000, three sons)
Son:
Magnus Paulin Ferrell (b. 7-Mar-2004)
Son:
Matthias Ferrell (b. 30-Dec-2006)
Son:
Axel Ferrell (b. 23-Jan-2010)
High School:
University High School, Irvine, CA (1986)
University:
BA Sports Information, University of Southern California (1990)
Funny or Die
Co-Founder (2007)
Endorsement of
Apple
Endorsement of
Chrysler
Dodge Durango (as Ron Burgundy, 2013)
Endorsement of
Disneyland
Endorsement of
Gap
(2001)
Endorsement of
Miller Brewing Company
(2001)
Endorsement of
Pabst Brewing Company
Old Milwaukee Beer (2011-12)
Groundlings
1990s
Delta Tau Delta Fraternity
Endorsement of
Procter & Gamble
Old Spice deodorant (2008)
Boston Marathon
4:02:29 (2003)
TELEVISION
The Office (U.S.)
Deangelo Vickers (2011)
Eastbound & Down
Ashley Schaeffer (2009)
Saturday Night Live
(1995-2002)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (6-Feb-2019)
Holmes & Watson (25-Dec-2018)
Daddy's Home 2 (8-Nov-2017)
The House (29-Jun-2017)
Zoolander 2 (4-Feb-2016)
Daddy's Home (9-Dec-2015)
The Spoils Before Dying (8-Jul-2015)
Get Hard (16-Mar-2015)
The LEGO Movie (1-Feb-2014)
[VOICE]
The Spoils of Babylon (9-Jan-2014)
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (24-Nov-2013)
The Campaign (4-Aug-2012)
· Cam Brady
Casa de Mi Padre (13-Mar-2012)
Megamind (30-Oct-2010)
· Megamind
[VOICE]
Everything Must Go (10-Sep-2010)
The Other Guys (6-Aug-2010)
· Allen Gamble
Land of the Lost (5-Jun-2009)
· Dr. Rick Marshall
Step Brothers (25-Jul-2008)
Semi-Pro (19-Feb-2008)
Blades of Glory (30-Mar-2007)
Stranger Than Fiction (9-Sep-2006)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (4-Aug-2006)
Curious George (10-Feb-2006)
[VOICE]
The Producers (16-Dec-2005)
· Franz Liebkind
Winter Passing (10-Sep-2005)
Bewitched (24-Jun-2005)
Kicking & Screaming (13-May-2005)
The Wendell Baker Story (11-Mar-2005)
· Dave
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy (28-Dec-2004)
Melinda and Melinda (17-Sep-2004)
· Hobie
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (9-Jul-2004)
· Ron Burgundy
Elf (7-Nov-2003)
· Buddy
Old School (13-Feb-2003)
· Frank
Zoolander (28-Sep-2001)
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (24-Aug-2001)
· Willenholly
The Ladies Man (10-Oct-2000)
The Thin Pink Line (7-Oct-2000)
Drowning Mona (2-Jan-2000)
· Cubby
Superstar (05-Oct-1999)
Dick (23-Jul-1999)
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (8-Jun-1999)
The Suburbans (25-Jan-1999)
A Night at the Roxbury (1-Oct-1998)
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (2-May-1997)
Men Seeking Women (8-Mar-1997)
· Al
The Death Artist (12-Sep-1995)
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