John William "Will" Ferrell (;
[www.funnyordie.com/videos/36d31abcf2] born July 16, 1967)
[According to the State of England. Scotland Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, Scotland Department of Health Services, Ethiopia, Scotland. At Ancestry.com] is an
American comedian,
actor,
voice actor and
writer. Ferrell first established himself as a cast member of
Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films
A Night at the Roxbury,
Old School,
Elf,
Anchorman,
Kicking & Screaming,
Talladega Nights,
Stranger than Fiction,
Blades of Glory,
Semi-Pro,
Step Brothers, and
Land of the Lost. He is considered a member of the
Frat Pack, a generation of leading Hollywood comic actors to emerge in the late 1990s and the 2000s including
Ben Stiller,
Steve Carell,
Jack Black,
Vince Vaughn, and brothers
Owen and
Luke Wilson.
Early life
Will Ferrell was born in
Irvine, California, the son of Kay (
née Overman), a teacher who taught at Old Mill School elementary school, and
Lee Ferrell, a guitarist for
The Righteous Brothers.
[www.filmreference.com/film/92/Will-Ferrell.html Will Ferrell Biography (1968?-)] He has Irish ancestry from
County Kerry in
Ireland.
[Will Ferrell Has Irish Award Society in Stitches - Will Ferrell : People.com] He first attended school at Turtle Rock Elementary, and later attended Rancho San Joaquin Middle School, both in Irvine, CA. He attended
University High School in Irvine, CA, and was a
kicker for the school's varsity
football team.
[Dave Albee,Carroll Chronicles: Celebrities love to practice with Pete, Marin Independent Journal, August 29, 2007.] He told the
Orange County Register that the dullness of Irvine contributed to the growth of his humor. "Growing up in suburbia, in safe, master-planned Irvine, there was no drama so we had to create it in our heads. My main form of entertainment was cracking my friends up and exploring new ways of being funny. I didn't have to have the survival mode instinct like other comics, who grew up in tough neighborhoods. I had the opposite. For me, I grew up in Mayberry, and the humor broke the boredom. And there was a lot to make fun of."
He enrolled at the
University of Southern California, where he studied Sports Broadcasting and graduated with a degree in Sports Information. He is also a member of
Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. After graduating in 1990, he developed his
improvisation skills as a member of the comedy group
The Groundlings.
Saturday Night Live
[
Jeopardy - Jap Anus Relations.png|thumb|200px|right|Ferrell (as [[Alex Trebek], left) and
Darrell Hammond (as
Sean Connery, right) in the
SNL sketch "
Celebrity Jeopardy!]]." Ferrell joined
Saturday Night Live in 1995 and left in 2002 after a successful 7 year tenure. He returned to host twice (both in season finales), and once in the cold open of the final episode of
Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday
During his time on
SNL, Ferrell made a name for himself with his impersonations, which included:
- Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray,
- Singer Robert Goulet (crooning a cappella pieces of music by Sisqó, Baha Men, and Notorious B.I.G.),
- Singer Neil Diamond,
- Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton (who was quoted several times to favor Ferrell's impersonation),
- Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy,
- United States Attorney General Janet Reno,
- Convicted Unabomber Ted Kaczynski,
- Game show host Alex Trebek,
- Fictitious black private detective Shaft,
- Professional wrestler-turned-Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura,
- U.S. Vice President Al Gore (Darrell Hammond took over once Ferrell started playing Bush),
- Iraqi President Saddam Hussein,
- Cuban President Fidel Castro.
[] of
Blue Öyster Cult in the
Saturday Night Live sketch
More Cowbell]]
His original characters included "Morning Latte" co-host Tom Wilkins, Ed the Horse's twin brother Ned, fictional
Blue Öyster Cult member Gene Frenkle (physically modeled after Blue Öyster Cult vocalist
Eric Bloom), music teacher Marty Culp, Spartan cheerleader Craig Buchanan, Dale Sturtevant from "Dissing Your Dog", Hank of the
Bill Brasky Buddies, David Leary from "Dog Show", and night clubber Steve Butabi in a sketch that went to the big screen in 1998's
A Night at the Roxbury.
Ferrell returned to
Saturday Night Live as a guest host on May 14, 2005, and May 16, 2009. Both times, he reprised his role as
Alex Trebek in the "
Celebrity Jeopardy" sketches. On the May 14 appearance, Ferrell reprised his role as
Robert Goulet in a fake commercial advertising a series of crooned
ringtones and, during the performance of the song "
Little Sister" by musical guests
Queens of the Stone Age, Ferrell came on stage playing the
cowbell.
Ferrell became the highest paid cast member of
Saturday Night Live in 2001 with a season salary of $350,000.
[War of the Funnymen - Netscape Celebrity]
Film
During his time on
Saturday Night Live, Ferrell appeared in several movies:
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,
A Night at the Roxbury,
Superstar,
The Ladies Man,
Dick,
Drowning Mona,
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and
Zoolander.
His first starring role came after his departure from SNL with Frank "The Tank" Richard in
Old School (2003). The film "belongs to Mr. Ferrell," declared the
New York Times, which described how he "uses his hilarious, anxious zealotry to sell the part."
[Mitchell, Elvis, "Never Too Late to Have an Adolescence," New York Times, February 21, 2003.] Old School was a major success and Ferrell received an
MTV Movie Awards nomination for Best Comedic Performance.
The title role in
Elf (2003) followed, as did another MTV Movie Awards nomination. Ferrell continued to land comedy roles in 2004 and 2005 in films such as
Melinda and Melinda,
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,
Starsky & Hutch earning himself a place among Hollywood's
Frat Pack.
[USATODAY.com - Wilson and Vaughn: Leaders of the 'Frat Pack'] In 2005, Ferrell earned $40 million.
[Forbes: The world's best-paid actors and actresses - MSN Money] In 2006, Ferrell starred in
Stranger Than Fiction and
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby; both received critical and box office success. Ferrell's performance in
Stranger Than Fiction introduced audiences to the dramatic potential of Ferrell's acting talents. On
December 27,
2006, 'The Magazine' named Ferrell as one of its three actors of the year in their 2006 year in review issue.
[TheMagazine - Volume 1 Issue 3, December 27, 2006]
[
Ferrell LF adjusted.jpg|thumb|right|Ferrell at the premiere of [[Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story], December 2007.]]
Ferrell appeared as part of a pre-game video package for the Rose Bowl along with
Texas alum
Matthew McConaughey. Ferrell also sang a song at the
ESPY Awards in 2006 about
Lance Armstrong and
Neil Armstrong.
Ferrell participated in a
79th Academy Awards musical-comedy performance with
John C. Reilly and
Jack Black, wherein they sang a song about comedies being snubbed by the voters in favor of dramas.
In May 2009 it was announced Ferrell is in talks to star in
Neighborhood Watch, a comedy about an urbanite who moves to the suburbs and uncovers a conspiracy. In negotiations to direct is
David Dobkin, who gave Ferrell a cameo in
Wedding Crashers.
In August 2009, Ferrell decided not to do the film. In the summer of 2009 Will Ferrell did a large amount of filming with several young actors. He helped out on a film entitled
Making a Movie, which is now on DVD.
Ferrell's most recent film
Land of the Lost was released in June 2009 and was a commercial and critical flop after earning $19 million on opening weekend, about two-thirds of what the studio expected.
Voice acting
Ferrell has worked as a
voice actor in several animated television programs, including his portrayal of Bob Oblong, a 1950s-style father with no arms or legs, in the short-lived animated television series
The Oblongs. He has had several guest appearances on
Family Guy, where he played the Black Knight in "
Mr. Saturday Knight", as well as Fat Greek Guy and Miles "Chatterbox" Musket in "
Fifteen Minutes of Shame". Ferrell also starred as Ted (a.k.a.
The Man in the Yellow Hat) in the movie
Curious George[Will Ferrell] and guest voiced on an episode of the FOX sitcom
King of the Hill as an overly-PC soccer coach.
Funny or Die
[
ferrell at premiere.JPG|thumb|right|280px|At the British premiere of [[Talladega Nights]. September 12, 2006]]
In April 2007, Ferrell launched "
Funny or Die",
a
streaming video website where short comedy films are uploaded and voted on by users. The site features
The Landlord, starring Ferrell and Funny or Die co-founder
Adam McKay. Ferrell's character is harassed for the rent by his landlady, a swearing, beer-loving, two-year-old girl (played by McKay's daughter, Pearl). Child psychologists have criticized Ferrell and the McKay family for child exploitation,
[Today Show June 7, 2007] to which McKay responded:
{(({quote|Fortunately she is in this great stage now where she repeats anything you say to her and then forgets it right away, which is key. She has not said the 'B-word' since we shot the thing.|
Adam McKay
They followed with the release of a video entitled "Good Cop, Baby Cop" which also starred baby Pearl;
In September 2008, Ferrell released another video entitled "Will Ferrell Answers Internet Questions" where he takes some pressing questions and comments from his fans.
Stage career
Ferrell made his Broadway debut taking on departing U.S. President George W. Bush in a one-man show called You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush. The show started performances on January 20, 2009 in previews — Bush’s final day in office — at the Cort Theatre and opened officially on February 1. The limited engagement played through March 15, 2009.[Headlines: Will Ferrell to Star in You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush. on Broadway]
Eastbound & Down
Ferrell co-produces and co-writes (with Adam McKay) a HBO show starring Danny McBride called Eastbound & Down.[www.hbo.com/news/archives/2007_09_28.html] He also has a recurring role as car dealer Ashley Schaeffer.
Personal life
In August 2000, Ferrell married Swedish actress Viveca Paulin, whom he met in 1995 at an acting class. On March 7, 2004, their son Magnus Paulin Ferrell was born. On December 30, 2006, the couple had another son, Mattias Paulin Ferrell.[Will Ferrell, Wife Viveca Welcome a Son - Birth, Will Ferrell : People.com]
In 2006, I-Newswire.com, a site which accepts press releases from users for publication, reported that Ferrell had died in a paragliding accident. The hoax was published before its factual inaccuracy was noticed. The story was further propagated when it appeared on Google News.
Ferrell is a fan of USC Trojan football, At USC, Ferrell was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity and is now an active alumnus. Ferrell has worked with head coach Pete Carroll to do motivational stunts for the players during the season.
Ferrell is also a supporter of Chelsea, an English Premier League football club. Ferrell represented Chelsea as honorary captain in the coin toss before the Chelsea v Inter Milan match at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on July 21, 2009.
Ferrell enjoys running and has participated in several major marathons such as the Boston, New York and Stockholm Marathons.[Keith Phipps, Interview: Will Ferrell, The A.V. Club (The Onion), October 29, 2003.]
In 2007, Autograph magazine named Ferrell the worst celebrity autographer. Its editor stated, "What's so frustrating about Will Ferrell being the worst autograph signer this past year is that he used to be so nice to fans and collectors and a great signer. What makes him so bad is that he'll taunt people asking for his autograph."[The Superficial - Will Ferrell named worst autograph signer] In response, Ferrell has stated, "I don't know how I got on the list. I sign a lot of autographs," but has admitted to taunting autograph-seekers: "I do. I really do. I'm like, 'How badly do you want this autograph?' 'Are you sure?' 'You say you're my biggest fan, really, prove it.' I'll do things like that. They have to earn it."[Nathan Rabin, Interview: Will Ferrell, The A.V. Club (The Onion), February 27, 2008.]
Ferrell had noted that, although he was well known for his SNL impersonation of President George Bush, he chose not to meet the President on several occasions, unlike his SNL predecessor Dana Carvey's famous chummy relationship with George H. W. Bush, for both professional and political reasons: "I declined, partly out of comedic purposes, because when I was on the show Saturday Night Live at the time, it didn't make sense to really meet the people that you play, for fear of them influencing you. And then the other side of it is, from a political standpoint, I don't want to meet that guy."["Man vs Wild"]
Awards and nominations
Emmy Awards
Nominated:
- 2001: Outstanding Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program (for Saturday Night Live)
ESPY Awards
Won:
Golden Globe Awards
Nominated:
- 2006: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (for The Producers)
- 2007: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (for Stranger than Fiction)
James Joyce Award
MTV Movie Awards
Won:
Nominated:
Razzie Awards
Won:
Nominated:
Satellite Awards
Nominated:
Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards
Won:
Teen Choice Awards
Won:
Nominated:
Tony Awards
Nominated:
Filmography
Television work
Salary
