Will Ferrell Bio

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Will Ferrell Pictures

John William "Will" Ferrell (pronounced /ˈfɛrəl/; born July 16, 1967) is an American comedian, actor, voice actor and writer. He first established himself as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, and has since gone on to a successful film career, starring in the comedies A Night at the Roxbury (1998), Old School, Elf (both 2003), Anchorman (2004), Kicking & Screaming (2005), Talladega Nights, Stranger than Fiction (both 2006), Blades of Glory (2007), Semi-Pro, Step Brothers (both 2008), and Land of the Lost (2009). 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.

Will Ferrell: Early life

Will Ferrell was born in Irvine, California, the son of Kay (née Overman), a teacher, and Lee Ferrell, a keyboardist for The Righteous Brothers. He has Irish ancestry from County Kerry in Ireland. He first attended elementary school at Turtle Rock Elementary School, 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. 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.

Will Ferrell: Saturday Night Live

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:

• U.S. President George W. Bush ("strategery" was one of several fake Bushisms created by Ferrell during skits about the 2000 campaign)

• 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 personality James Lipton,
• 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.

As Gene Frenkle of Blue í–yster 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 í–yster Cult member Gene Frenkle, 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.

Will Ferrell: 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 movie "belongs to Mr. Ferrell," declared the New York Times, which described how he "uses his hilarious, anxious zealotry to sell the part." 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. In 2005, Ferrell earned $40 million. 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.

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, and is often noted as looking very similar to Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.

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 a urbanite who moves to the suburbs, and uncovers a conspiracy. In negotions to direct is David Dobkin, who gave Ferrell a cameo in the Wedding Crashers.

Will Ferrell: 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 and guest voiced on an episode of the FOX sitcom King of the Hill as an overly-PC soccer coach.

Will Ferrell: Funny or Die

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 McKays for child exploitation, to which McKay responded:

They followed with the release of a video entitled "Good Cop, Baby Cop" which also starred baby Pearl; the end of the video stated that this would be her final appearance and wished her a happy "baby retirement."

In September 2008, Ferrell released another video entitled "Will Ferrell Answers Internet Questions" where he takes some pressing questions and comments from his fans.

Will Ferrell: Stage career

Ferrell made his Broadway debut taking on departing U.S. President George W. Bush in a new 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.

Will Ferrell: East Bound and Down

Ferrell co-produces and co-writes (with Adam McKay) a HBO show starring Danny McBride called East Bound and Down.

Will Ferrell: 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.

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 enjoys running and has participated in several major marathons such as the Boston, New York and Stockholm Marathons.

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." 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."

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." Ferrell also appeared on an episode of Man vs. Wild, where he traveled throughout the tundras of Sweden with the show's host, Bear Grylls. In the episode, Ferrell came across various unique situations, including having to eat an eye of a reindeer.

Will Ferrell: Awards and nominations

Will Ferrell - Emmy Awards

Nominated:

• 2001: Outstanding Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program (for Saturday Night Live)

Will Ferrell - ESPY Awards

Won:

• 2007 ESPY Awards, Best Sports Movie (for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby)
• 2008 ESPY Awards, Best Sports Movie (for Semi-Pro)

Will Ferrell - 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)

Will Ferrell - James Joyce Award

• 2008: James Joyce Award from University College Dublin's Literary and Historical Society in recognition for "excelling in his field".

Will Ferrell - MTV Movie Awards

Won:

• 2007: Best Kiss for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (with Sacha Baron Cohen)

Nominated:

• 2007: Best Comedic Performance (for Blades of Glory)
• 2007: Best Fight (for Blades of Glory)
• 2005: Best Comedic Performance (for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy)
• 2005: Best On-Screen Team (with Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and David Koechner for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy)
• 2005: Best Musical Performance (with Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Steve Carell for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy)
• 2004: Best Comedic Performance (for Elf)
• 2004: Best Comedic Performance (for Old School)
• 2004: Best On-Screen Team (with Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn for Old School)

Will Ferrell - Razzie Awards

Won:

• 2005 Worst Screen Couple (with Nicole Kidman), for Bewitched

Nominated:

• 2005: Worst Actor for Bewitched and Kicking & Screaming

Will Ferrell - Satellite Awards

Nominated:

• 2006: Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical (for Stranger Than Fiction)

Will Ferrell - Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards

Won:

• 2007 Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards, Funniest Mo-fo
• 2007 Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards, Most Viral Video

Will Ferrell - Teen Choice Awards

Won:

• 2007: Choice Movie Actor - Comedy for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Blades of Glory

Nominated:

• 2004: Choice Comedian
• 2004: Choice Movie Actor - Comedy for Elf
• 2005: Choice Comedian
• 2005: Choice Movie Actor - Comedy for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Kicking & Screaming
• 2005: Choice Movie Hissy Fit for Kicking & Screaming
• 2005: Choice Movie Rumble for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
• 2005: Choice Movie Sleazebag for Kicking & Screaming
• 2007: Choice Comedian
• 2007: Choice Movie Chemistry (with Jon Heder), for Blades of Glory
• 2007: Choice Movie Dance (with Jon Heder), for Blades of Glory
• 2007: Choice Movie Hissy Fit for Blades of Glory
• 2008: Choice Comedian
• 2008: Choice Movie Actor - Comedy for Semi-Pro

Will Ferrell - Tony Awards

Nominated:

• 2009: Best Special Theatrical Event (for You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush)