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 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.
For people who have done comedy after a certain point in time, I think there's a base level of, 'O.K., I think I'm decently funny.' But unless you just have some massive ego, I really think you're still fighting against that.
I definitely wanted to leave "Saturday Night Live" at a time when I still enjoyed doing the show. I didn't have a supreme confidence that I would be immediately successful after leaving the show, but I just knew it was the right time to test myself and get out there and try other things.
In junior high P.E., I was way too shy to take a shower in front of the other kids. It was a horribly awkward time - body hair, odors... So I'd go from my sweaty shirt back into my regular clothes and have to continue the day.
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.
When a dramatic actor does a funny film, people are like, 'Wonderful! I didn't know he was funny!' But when it flips, people can get really thrown by it.