Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in comedy films such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, The Other Guysand Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, all but one of which he co-wrote with his comedy partner Adam McKay. The two also founded the comedy website Funny...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth16 July 1967
CityIrvine, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I just kind of have a comedic looking body, I guess. If anything I really have to exercise just to not look too fudgy, otherwise I would just keep going and going.
I was never a class clown or anything like that, but I do remember being in the first grade and my teacher, Mr. Chad, told the class one day that we were going to do some exercises. He meant math exercises, but I stood up and started doing jumping jacks. To this day, I don't know what possessed me to do that, but all my friends cracked up.
I think people don't understand that comedy is an outlet for me. Comedy allows me to get outside of myself, and exercise this thing that is still kind of scary to me.
That's what I think works the best, and what I think makes the best comedy - something that's completely committed and more approached as an acting exercise, as opposed to being worried about whether to be funny or not. The comedy comes from the context.
You always want to do a good job and hopefully, I won't be in something that looks and feels like I'm in over my head.
Whom does the prime minister prefer? Tinky Winkey, Dipsy, Po, or La-La?
I'd love to become like Bill Murray, who was so funny on Saturday Night Live and has gone on to do some of the landmark comedies people like. And then to add this whole other phase to his career with Lost in Translation and Rushmore. I always felt to be able to have something similar to that would be great.
The only thing I can attribute it to, in leaving the show, is making the right choices or having the opportunity with people to develop material that is closer to your sensibility,
It's rare that you get to actually cast the person that you are using as the type of actor you want for the role. So we talked about who could play Papa Elf, and we started saying someone like Bob Newhart would be perfect. When you actually get that person, it's truly a special thing.
It's important that this character is played real, or straight, the whole way through and not winking at the audience. It was approached from a dramatic side as much as a comedic side.
It's amazing what they turn up in those archives
When you hear that you're going to be working with a first-time director, sometimes that can be a concern to people.
I've had moments in my life when I've thought if I wasn't acting, if I wasn't doing what I do and I had a career in the private sector and I didn't have a family, that I do have some tendencies where I could really kind of have a monastic existence and be okay with it.
I might be more fluent in Swedish than I am in Spanish. My wife speaks it to our kids, and they're fluent so I hear it all the time, so I've got that under my belt.