Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell is a comically talented actor who has been making people laugh on screen for over 20 years. I first saw Will on Saturday Night Live, where for 140 episodes (primarily between 1995-2002) he owned some of the biggest laughs by adding more cowbell or by portraying characters such as Alex Trebek, James Lipton, George W. Bush, Robert Goulet, a Spartan cheerleader, and the bearded half of “The Luvahs.” He is skilled at developing characters with funny sets of behaviours, going to any length for a joke (saying anything, wearing anything- or nothing, etc.), and can find a comic balance with nearly any fellow actor. Playing the straight faced Alex Trebek he was able to deadpan the reactions to over the top contestants, as a cheerleader he was able to channel his naive childish energy, and as one of The Luvahs, it was almost too easy for him to crack up his co-stars in the scene. Ferrell knows where the laughs are, how to get to them, and is most effective when he has someone to trade laughs with, such as Chris Kattan or Oteri on SNL or more recently with Mark Wahlberg in The Other Guys (2010), Daddy’s Home (2015) and its sequel which is in the works. Mark plays the bad boy and Will the boring by the book type, which makes the absurd action funnier and gives them both an opportunity for delivering laugh inducing lines. Wahlberg made the 2 comedic Ted movies (2012 & 2015) after working with Ferrell, he had not explored primarily comedic films before. Ferrell has also made a great comedic pairing with John C. Reilly appearing together in Talladega Nights (2006), Step Brothers (2008), and soon will appear together in Holmes and Watson. Ferrell has a film currently in theatres, The House with Amy Poehler, where they play a couple who start a casino inside a house and he will next be seen in Zeroville (comedy directed and starring James Franco).
Will was born in Irvine, California, played many sports in school, and joined the comedy group The Groundlings at age 27. That soon lead to joining SNL in 1995 which helped Will join movies made by SNL alumni such as the first 2 Austin Powers (1997 & 1999 starring Mike Myers), A Night at the Roxbury (1998 with Chris Kattan), Superstar (1999 with Molly Shannon), and The Ladies Man (2000 with Tim Meadows). Ferrell has made a number of memorable roles in funny movies like playing Mugatu in Zoolander (2001 starring Ben Stiller), Frank the Tank in Old School (2003 with Luke Wilson), Buddy in Elf (2003 with James Caan), Ron Burgandy in Anchorman (2004 with Christina Applegate), and its sequel Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), Zoolander 2 (2016). He primarily works in comedy films such as Dick (1999 with Kirsten Dunst), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001 wrote and directed by Kevin Smith), Kicking & Screaming (2005 with Robert Duvall), Bewitched (2005 with Nicole Kidman), Wedding Crashers (2005 with Owen Wilson), The Producers (2005 with Nathan Lane which earned Will a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor), Blades of Glory (2007 with Jon Heder), Semi-Pro (2008 with Woody Harrelson), Land of the Lost (2009 with Danny McBride), Everything Must Go (2010 with Rebecca Hall), The Campaign (2012 with Zach Galifianakis), and Get Hard (2015 with Kevin Hart). Choosing to balance his more goofy funny films with something else, Will also has roles in Melinda and Melinda (2004 wrote and directed by Woody Allen), Winter Passing (2005 with Ed Harris), and Stranger Than Fiction (2006 with Emma Thompson). He has also lent his voice to Curious George (2006), Megamind (2010), The Lego Movie (2014), and was in episodes of The Office (2011 with Steve Carell), Eastbound & Down (2009-2012 with Danny McBride), and 30 Rock (2010-2012 with Tina Fey).
Thank you and Happy Birthday Will!