“ William Ferrell ” redirects here. For the baseball musician, see Willie Ferrell
John William Ferrell ( ; [ 1 ] born July 16, 1967 ) [ 2 ] [ 3 ] is an american actor, comedian, producer, and writer. He foremost established himself in the mid-1990s as a draw member on the NBC sketch comedy prove Saturday Night Live, where he performed from 1995 to 2002, and has subsequently starred in comedy films such as Elf ( 2003 ), Kicking & Screaming ( 2005 ), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ( 2006 ), Semi-Pro ( 2008 ), and Land of the Lost ( 2009 ). He founded the drollery web site Funny or Die in 2007 with his writing partner Adam McKay. other celebrated film roles include The Other Guys ( 2010 ), The Campaign ( 2012 ), Get Hard ( 2015 ), Holmes & Watson ( 2018 ), and the animated films Curious George ( 2006 ) and Megamind ( 2010 ).
Reading: Will Ferrell – Wikipedia
Ferrell is considered a member of the “ Frat Pack “, a coevals of leading Hollywood comic actors who emerged in the late 1990s and the 2000s, including Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, Vince Vaughn, and brothers Owen and Luke Wilson. He received an Emmy Award nomination for his oeuvre on Saturday Night Live, and three Golden Globe Award nominations for acting in The Producers ( 2005 ) and Stranger than Fiction ( 2006 ) and for producing Vice ( 2018 ). He was besides named the best comedian of 2015 in the british GQ Men of the year awards. Ferrell received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 24, 2015 .
early life
Ferrell was born on July 16, 1967, in Irvine, California, [ 2 ] to Betty Kay ( née Overman ; born 1940 ), a teacher who taught at Old Mill School elementary school and Santa Ana College and Roy Lee Ferrell Jr. ( bear 1941 ), who played sax and keyboards for the Righteous Brothers. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] His parents were both natives of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. They moved to California in 1964. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] Ferrell ‘s lineage includes English, German, and Irish. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] As an baby Ferrell suffered from pyloric stenosis and had a pyloromyotomy to correct the condition. He has a younger brother, Patrick. When he was eight years old, his parents divorced. Ferrell said of the divorce : “ I was the character of kid who would say, ‘Hey, look at the bright side ! We ‘ll have two Christmases ‘. ” The disassociate was amicable, and both parents were committed to their children. The biggest problem was his father ‘s line of exploit. As a person in show occupation, his paychecks were never sweetheart, and he traveled from family for months at a time. Growing up in this environment made Ferrell not want to go into prove business and alternatively have a brace job. Will first attend school at Culverdale Elementary [ 12 ] and former attended Rancho San Joaquin Middle School, both in Irvine. He attended University High School in Irvine, and was a kicker for the educate ‘s varsity football team. [ 13 ] He was besides on the soccer team and captain of the basketball team, angstrom well as serving on the scholar council. Ferrell called third base grad “ a pivotal year. ” He realized he could make his classmates laugh if he pretended to smash his head against the wall, or if he tripped and fell on purpose, and said it was a great way to make friends. He said the dullness of Irvine contributed to the increase of his humor :
Growing up in suburbia, in safe, master-planned Irvine, there was no play so we had to create it in our heads. My main form of entertainment was cracking my friends up and exploring raw ways of being amusing. I did n’t have to have the survival modality instinct like early comics, who grew up in bully neighborhoods. I had the diametric. For me, I grew up in Mayberry, and the humor broke the boredom. And there was a lot to make playfulness of. [ 15 ]
In his aged year of high educate, Ferrell and a supporter would perform comedy skits over the school ‘s intercommunication system system, with cooperation from the principal ; the two had to write their own material. Ferrell besides performed comedic skits in the school ‘s endowment shows. He was voted “ Best personality ” by his classmates. He enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he studied sports air and joined the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. In college, he was known for a few pranks. On occasion, he would dress in a janitor ‘s outfit and amble into his friends ‘ classes. He was besides known for streaking round campus with a few other people from the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Ferrell earned an internship at a local television station in the sports department, but he did not enjoy the work. After graduating with a B.A. academic degree in sports data in 1990, he knew he did not want to do circulate. He took up a occupation as a hotel valet where, on his irregular day, he tore a baggage rack off the top of a vanguard by trying to drive it under a low beam. He besides worked as a teller at Wells Fargo, but came up short $ 300 the foremost sidereal day and $ 280 the second gear ; he was not stealing the money, but was equitable careless and erring. In 1991, encouraged by his mother to pursue something he liked, Ferrell moved to Los Angeles. He successfully auditioned for the comedy group The Groundlings where he spent prison term developing his improvisation skills .
career
The Groundlings
Before joining The Groundlings, Ferrell ‘s attempts at standup drollery had little achiever. He started in the advanced classes and grew to love improvisation. He realized he besides liked to impersonate people, and one of his favorites was Harry Caray, the Hall of Fame baseball announcer. Soon he began to create master characters. With chap Groundlings member Chris Kattan, they created the Butabi Brothers, who go out to dance clubs to try to pick up women but are constantly rejected. While taking classes, Ferrell got a job at an auction house via his friend Viveca Paulin. The problem was ideal as it was flexible adequate for him to audition and go to rehearsals while besides being employed. He received small roles, including television series Grace Under Fire and Living Single, low-budget films such as A Bucket of Blood, a well as commercials. One winter, he served as a promenade Santa Claus. then, in 1994, he won a spot with the top professional group of The Groundlings .
Saturday Night Live
After SNL ‘s decline in popularity in 1994–1995, and in necessitate of newfangled draw members for the future season, a producer see The Groundlings and asked Ferrell, Kattan, and Cheri Oteri to audition for SNL ‘s main manufacturer, Lorne Michaels. Ferrell joined Saturday Night Live in 1995 and left in 2002 after a seven-year tenure. He has hosted the show five times, thereby becoming a member of the show ‘s five-spot Timers Club. [ 20 ] During his time on SNL, Ferrell made a name for himself with his impersonations, which included US President George W. Bush, Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray, singer Robert Goulet ( crooning a cappella pieces of music by Sisqó, Baha Men, and The Notorious B.I.G. ), singer Neil Diamond, Inside the Actors Studio master of ceremonies James Lipton ( who favored Ferrell ‘s imposture ), Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, United States Attorney General Janet Reno, convicted Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, game show master of ceremonies Alex Trebek, fabricated private detective John Shaft, professional wrestler Jesse Ventura, US Vice President Al Gore, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and Cuban President Fidel Castro. His original characters included Morning Latte co-host Tom Wilkins, Mister Ed the Horse ‘s twin brother Ned, fabricated Blue Öyster Cult member Gene Frenkle ( physically modeled after the band ‘s singer Eric Bloom ), [ citation needed ] music teacher Marty Culp, cheerleader Craig Buchanan, Dale Sturtevant from Dissing Your Dog, Hank of the Bill Brasky Buddies, David Leary from Dog Show, angry and inattentive Dr. Beaman and night clubber Steve Butabi in sketches that were turned into a feature of speech film in 1998 ‘s A Night at the Roxbury. Ferrell became the highest yield cast extremity of Saturday Night Live in 2001 with a season wage of $ 350,000. [ 21 ] Ferrell returned to Saturday Night Live as a node server on May 14, 2005 ; May 16, 2009 ; May 12, 2012 ; January 27, 2018, and November 23, 2019. For the first two host appearances, he reprised his character as Alex Trebek in the “ Celebrity Jeopardy “ sketches. On the May 14 appearance, Ferrell reprised his character as Robert Goulet in a talk through one’s hat commercial advertise a series of ringtones and, during the performance of the song “ little Sister “ by melodious guests Queens of the Stone Age, Ferrell came on degree playing the cowbell. In a 2014 poll taken as function of a commemorative SNL feature on Grantland, Ferrell was voted the best Saturday Night Live frame extremity of all prison term. [ 22 ] On December 12, 2015, Ferrell appeared in the cold open of the testify in character as George W. Bush. [ 23 ] He reprised this function when he returned as host in 2018 .
Film career
During his meter 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 beginning starring function after his passing from Saturday Night Live was as 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 fanaticism to sell the separate. ” [ 24 ] Old School was a achiever and Ferrell received an MTV Movie Awards nominating speech for Best Comedic Performance. The title role in Elf ( 2003 ) followed, as did another MTV Movie Awards nominating speech. Ferrell continued to land comedy roles in 2004 and 2005 in films such as Melinda and Melinda, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and Starsky & Hutch earning himself a position among Hollywood ‘s Frat Pack. [ 25 ] In 2005, Ferrell earned $ 40 million. [ 26 ] In 2006, Ferrell starred in Stranger Than Fiction and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Both received critical and box agency achiever. Ferrell ‘s performance in Stranger Than Fiction introduced audiences to the dramatic likely of Ferrell ‘s act talents, while Talladega Nights was his highest grossing live-action open as of 2010 at $ 47 million. [ 27 ] On December 27, 2006, The Magazine named Ferrell as one of its three actors of the class in their 2006 class in reappraisal issue. [ 28 ] A sequel to Anchorman, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, was released in 2013. [ 29 ] In 2008, Ferrell starred in the movie Step Brothers with John C. Reilly. It was directed by frequent Ferrell confederate Adam McKay, who was besides a co-writer of the movie. The movie earned $ 128 million worldwide, [ 30 ] Ferrell appeared as separate of a pre-game television package for the Rose Bowl along with University of Texas at Austin alumnus Matthew McConaughey. Ferrell sang a song at the ESPY Awards in 2006 about Lance Armstrong and Neil Armstrong. He and John C. Reilly performed a spot during the 2008 ESPY Awards within which they made demands in regulate for them to appear at the ESPYs, such as asking Portland Trail Blazers ‘ center Greg Oden to tuck them in at night and tell them stories of the old times or to bring back the Cold War so the Olympics can be interest again. 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 privilege of play. In May 2009, it was announced that Ferrell was in talks to star in a feature film, Neighborhood Watch ( by and by The Watch ), a comedy about an urbanite who moves to the suburbs and uncovers a conspiracy. In negotiations to direct was David Dobkin, who gave Ferrell a cameo in Wedding Crashers. [ 31 ] In August 2009, Ferrell decided not to do the film. [ 32 ]
Ferrell in 2014 Ferrell starred in the feature movie Land of the Lost ( 2009 ). It was a commercial and critical flop, earning $ 19 million on opening weekend—about two-thirds of what the studio apartment expected. [ 33 ] [ 34 ] In 2010, he was the executive producer and star of The Other Guys, a buddy collar movie which besides has an ensemble draw which consists of Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Ray Stevenson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Dwayne Johnson. The film was a commercial success earning over $ 140 million [ 35 ] and was positively reviewed by critics. Ferrell appeared in the 2011 music video recording for “ Make Some Noise “ by the Beastie Boys, in the battlefront of a limousine playing a cowbell. He stars in Casa de Mi Padre, a telenovela spoof comedy set in a ranch with Mexican stars Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal. The movie is told in histrionic telenovela form and features English-language subtitles. [ 36 ] He starred aboard Zach Galifianakis in the 2012 political comedy The Campaign, which garnered mediocre reviews and grossed $ 104 million against a budget of $ 95 million. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] besides in 2012, he appeared in the comedy Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie and starred as Armando Álvarez in the Spanish-language comedy Casa de Mi Padre which was directed by frequent collaborator Matt Piedmont. [ 39 ] [ 40 ] Ferrell and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who have had a long-running joke feud over how both look like each other appeared on the May 22, 2014 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for a charity drum-off struggle. Despite Smith clearly giving the better performance, Ferrell was named the winner and awarded a colossus gold cowbell. Both were joined by Smith ‘s Red Hot Chili Peppers bandmates for a performance of “ Do n’t Fear the Reaper, ” with Ferrell playing cowbell. [ 41 ] On June 10, 2014, Ferrell and Smith challenged Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich to a drum-off with Ferrell, saying Ulrich looks “ eerily alike ” to the two of them. [ 42 ] Ulrich accepted the challenge two days subsequently. [ 43 ] In 2015, he starred in the buddy comedy Get Hard and the drollery Daddy’s Home, with the latter reuniting him The Other Guys co-star Mark Walhberg. [ 44 ] [ 45 ] He reprised his role, Jacobim Mugatu, in the Zoolander sequel, Zoolander 2 ( 2016 ). [ 46 ]
His film projects include the comedy-drama Zeroville ( 2016 ), based on the fresh of the same identify ; [ 47 ] and portraying director Russ Meyer in Russ and Roger Go Beyond ( 2017 ), a comedic biopic documenting the construct of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, which was written by movie critic Roger Ebert ( played by Josh Gad ). [ 48 ]
voice acting
Ferrell has worked as a voice actor in several animize television receiver programs and films, including his portrayal of Bob Oblong, a 1950s-style father with no arms or legs, in the ephemeral enliven television series The Oblongs. He has had several guest appearances on Family Guy where he played the Black Knight in “ Mr. Saturday Knight, ” equally well as Fat Greek Guy and Miles “ Chatterbox ” Musket in Fifteen Minutes of Shame. Ferrell besides starred as Ted ( a.k.a. The man in the Yellow Hat ) in the film Curious George [ 49 ] and node voiced on an episode of the FOX situation comedy King of the Hill as a politically correct soccer coach. He voiced the title character in the 2010 DreamWorks Animation movie Megamind equally well as President Business in The Lego Movie, [ 50 ] released in 2014 .
Stage career
Ferrell made his Broadway debut taking on departing U.S. President George W. Bush in a one-man read 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 sidereal day in office—at the Cort Theatre and opened officially on February 1. The limited betrothal played through March 15, 2009. [ 51 ]
baseball
On May 6, 2010, at a Minor League Baseball game at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas, Ferrell was introduced between innings as a Venezuelan pitcher for the Round Rock Express named “ Billy Ray ‘RoJo ‘ Johnson ”. Wearing a false mustache and carrying a bag of beer cans to the pitcher, Ferrell threw one pitch and was ejected after a stage battle and furrow with an opposing dinge. He revealed himself to the fans when his mustache fell off during the chase. Video of the skit went viral. [ 52 ] [ 53 ] The appearance was cooked up by Ferrell and the Express, who sent out a imperativeness release announcing Johnson ‘s “ sign language ” to promote The Will Powered Golf Classic the follow day at the nearby Cimarron Hills Country Club, which benefits Cancer for College, an constitution that provides scholarships to cancer survivors. [ 54 ] Ferrell played in five games of Major League Baseball leap aim on March 12, 2015, for 10 Cactus League teams as partially of promoting a Funny or Die comedy/charity limited. [ 55 ] [ 56 ] He played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and the San Francisco Giants, playing all 10 positions including designated batter. According to Baseball Reference, Ferrell faced and retired one clobber – pitching on behalf of the Dodgers and ending with a 0.00 ERA. [ 57 ] The memorabilia from his one-day professional baseball career was sold and was auctioned and the proceeds were sent to two cancer charities. Ferrell went 0–2 with two strikeouts over the day, but managed to foul off a 92 miles per hour fastball from the Giants ‘ Jean Machi. [ 58 ]
soccer
In 2016, Ferrell became a part-owner of Los Angeles FC, which competes in the MLS. [ 59 ] When asked about why he became a co-owner Ferrell said “ I do n’t truly have a side per southeast until LAFC get started and that will decidedly be, obviously, my team. But I fair enough watching the fact that it ‘s played all over the world. so many amazing players and so many peak flight leagues. And hopefully MLS can be on par, finally, with the european leagues. ” [ 60 ]
Creating and producing
Funny or Die
In April 2007, Ferrell and Adam McKay launched “ Funny or Die “, [ 61 ] a streaming video web site where short drollery films are upload and voted on by users. One of the featured shorts, The Landlord, stars Ferrell as a valet harassed for the lease by his landlady, a curse, beer-loving, two-year-old girl, played by McKay ‘s own daughter, Pearl. Child psychologists have criticized Ferrell and the McKay class for child exploitation, [ 62 ] to which McKay responded, “ fortunately she is in this great stagecoach now where she repeats anything you say to her and then forgets it right away, which is winder. She has not said the ‘B-word ‘ since we shot the thing. ” [ 63 ] They followed with the release of a video recording entitled “ dear Cop, Baby Cop ” which besides starred baby Pearl ; [ 64 ] the end of the video recording stated that this would be her final examination appearance and wished her a happy “ baby retirement ”. In September 2008, Ferrell released another television entitled “ Will Ferrell Answers Internet Questions ” where he takes some compress questions and comments from his fans. Another Ferrell appearance on “ Funny or Die ” [ 61 ] is in the video called “ green team ”, featuring besides McKay and John C. Reilly. It shows militant ecological activists terrorizing the crew on a filming laid .
Eastbound and Down
Ferrell co-produced ( with Adam McKay ) an HBO express starring Danny McBride called Eastbound & Down. [ 65 ] He besides had a recurring character as car principal Ashley Schaeffer .
The Chris Gethard Show
Ferrell was one of the executive producers of The Chris Gethard Show, which aired on fusion from 2015 to 2016 and on truTV from 2017 to 2018. [ 66 ]
personal animation
In August 2000, Ferrell married swedish actress Viveca Paulin, whom he met in 1995 at an act classify. They live in New York City and besides Orange County, California, and have three sons, Magnus Paulin Ferrell ( born March 7, 2004 ), [ 67 ] Mattias Paulin Ferrell ( wear December 30, 2006 ), [ 68 ] and Axel Paulin Ferrell ( born January 23, 2010 ). [ 69 ]
Ferrell at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con with Mark Wahlberg At USC, Ferrell was a member of Delta Tau Delta brotherhood and is nowadays an active voice alumnus. Ferrell has worked with erstwhile head coach Pete Carroll to do motivational stunts for the players during the season. [ 13 ] Ferrell has participated in marathons including the Boston, New York, and the Stockholm marathons. [ 70 ] He besides raises money for charity, including his Scholarships for Cancer Survivors campaign through a micro-donations fundraising platform. [ 71 ] [ 72 ] [ 73 ] In 2007, Autograph magazine named Ferrell the worst celebrity autographer. Its editor stated : “ What ‘s then 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. ” [ 74 ] In response, Ferrell stated : “ I do n’t know how I got on the number. I sign a bunch of autograph. ” He has, however, admitted to taunting autograph-seekers : “ I do. I truly do. I ‘m like, ‘How badly do you want this autograph ? ‘ ‘Are you certain ? ‘ ‘You say you ‘re my biggest fan, in truth, prove it. ‘ I ‘ll do things like that. They have to earn it. ” [ 75 ] Ferrell had noted that, although he was well known for his SNL impersonation of President George W. Bush, he chose, for both professional and political reasons not to meet the President on respective occasions, unlike his SNL harbinger Dana Carvey ‘s celebrated relationship with George H. W. Bush : “ I declined, partially out of comedic purposes, because when I was on the indicate Saturday Night Live at the prison term, it did n’t make sense to in truth meet the people that you play, for reverence of them influencing you. And then the early side of it is, from a political point of view, I do n’t want to meet that guy. ” [ 75 ] Ferrell besides appeared on an episode of Man vs. Wild, where he traveled throughout the tundras of Sweden with the show ‘s master of ceremonies, Bear Grylls. In the episode, Ferrell came across versatile unique situations which included eating the center of a caribou. [ 76 ] In August 2012, while in Australia promoting The Campaign, Ferrell made a guest appearance on the channel 10 live panel news/comedy show The Project. He found himself speaking via video recording associate to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, during which they had a humorous conversation about hairdressing. [ 77 ] [ 78 ] Ferrell supported Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election and met him ( along with his wife, Michelle ) in 2011. [ 79 ] In February 2013, Ferrell endorsed Eric Garcetti for mayor of Los Angeles. [ 80 ] On January 7, 2016, it was announced that Ferrell would become a part-owner of Los Angeles FC, a Major League Soccer team set to begin playing in 2018, one of several fame owners of the team aboard Mia Hamm and Magic Johnson. [ 81 ] [ 82 ] On May 12, 2017, Ferrell was awarded an honorary D.H.L. degree by the University of Southern California. [ 83 ] [ 84 ] On April 13, 2018, Ferrell was involved in a good two-car collision in California, where he was riding in an SUV that flipped over. Ferrell was one of three passengers in the car. Ferrell was seen talking on his cell telephone while being loaded into an ambulance. [ 85 ] Ferrell, along with another passenger was unhurt in the accident, although two others were injured. [ 86 ] He was released from the hospital shortly after, said to be “ doing ticket. ” [ 87 ]
Filmography
Awards and honours
Over his career Ferrell has received respective awards nominations including sixteen Primetime Emmy Award nominations winning three awards, one for Succession ( 2020 ), and doubly for Live in Front of a Studio Audience ( 2019, 2020 ). [ 88 ] Ferrell received two Golden Globe Award nominations for his comedian performances in The Producers ( 2005 ), and Stranger than Fiction ( 2006 ). [ 89 ] He besides received a Tony Award nominating speech for Best Special Theatrical Event for You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush ( 2009 ). [ 90 ] Ferrell besides has received diverse honors including the James Joyce Award from the University College Dublin ‘s Literary and Historical Society in recognition for “ excelling in his field ” in 2008. In 2011 he was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Ferrell received the trophy at a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts where he was honored by mate comedians and collaborators Conan O’Brien, John C. Reilly, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Adam McKay, Tim Meadows, Matthew Broderick, and Ed Asner. [ 91 ] In 2015, Ferrell received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his function in motion pictures .
References
Sources
- Abbey, Cherie D. (April 2007). “Will Ferrell 1967–”. Biography Today. Vol. 16 no. 2. Omnigraphics, Inc. pp. 54–58. ISSN 1058-2347.