John William Ferrell was born in Irvine, California, to Betty Kay , and lives in L.A.
Lives in Los Angeles, Bend, Oregon and New York City.
While he was in high school, Will made the daily morning announcements over the public access system in disguised voices. This is how he first became interested in performing.
Attended and graduated from University High School in Irvine, California in 1986.
His father, Lee Ferrell , was a longtime keyboardist and saxophonist for The Righteous Brothers.
Attended and graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Sports Information.
Celebrity impersonations include Alex Trebek , Jesse Ventura , Charlton Heston , Mark McGwire , George W. Bush , Janet Reno , Harry Caray and (perhaps most famously) James Lipton.
Older brother of Patrick Ferrell.
His wife, Viveca Paulin , is Swedish.
Became "Saturday Night Live" s highest paid cast member ever in 2001. Producers were desperate to keep him, resulting in a salary of over $350,000.
Final appearance on "Saturday Night Live" on May 18, 2002, followed by career move into full-time movie-acting.
He can be heard in the movie Kingpin in the background during the final bowling scene between Bill Murray and Woody Harrelson s characters shouting, "Ernie, youre the man!".
(April 21, 2003) Competed at the Boston Marathon. His official time was 4 hours, 2 minutes and 29 seconds.
He and his wife Viveca Paulin ran the Boston Marathon on April 21, 2003.
He and his wife Viveca Paulin ran in the New York City Marathon in 2001, finishing together in 5 hours, 1 minute and 56 seconds.
Is a member of the Delta Tau Delta international fraternity.
Studied at USC in the hopes of becoming a sports broadcaster. He graduated and interned at NBC Sports, but then drew laughs after ad-libbing a joke on-air during one of his broadcasting courses and switched to comedy.
Was not a class clown in high school but a scholar and an athlete.
Son, Magnus Paulin Ferrell, born on March 7, 2004. He weighed 8 lbs. 12 oz.
Was voted the 3rd funniest person in America by Entertainment Weekly.
Has played NWA-TNA announcer Don West on "Saturday Night Live" .
His style is unique among modern movie funnymen, a majority of whom have some sort of background in stand-up comedy. Ferrells humor is character-driven and his genius lies in his improvised riffs from the minds of his typically cracked characters. His appearances on talk shows are often awkward, as he is uncomfortable appearing in public as himself.
Is a member of what the media refers to as "The Frat Pack", along with Jack Black , Ben Stiller , Vince Vaughn , Steve Carell , Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson. The "Frat Pack" name is a reference to the film Old School featuring Vince Vaughn , Ferrell and Luke Wilson , due to the wide number of films featuring the seven actors. Ferrells "Frat Pack" films include Zoolander , Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy , Starsky & Hutch and Wedding Crashers .
Ranked #51 in Premiere magazines 2004 Power 100 List. It is his first appearance on the list.
In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back , he played Marshal Willenholly, a reference to Marshall, Will, and Holly from the television series "Land of the Lost" . Ferrell played Marshall in the movie adaptation of Land of the Lost .
Ranked #38 on Premiere magazines 2005 Power 50 List. Had ranked #51 in 2004.
Once said that one of his favourite films is Patton .
Is a member of an adult soccer league that plays at Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences - an exclusive private school in Santa Monica, California.
Ranked #34 on Premiere magazines 2006 "Power 50" list. Had ranked #38 in 2005.
He has English, with smaller amounts of Irish, German, and Welsh, ancestry.
Has three sons -- Magnus, Mattias and Axel. Mattias was born on December 30, 2006.
Has three dogs.
Parents are Lee Ferrell and Kay Overman.
Aside from University High School where he graduated, he also attended Rancho San Joaquin Middle School Irvine.
A kicker for the Varsity football team, and still holds the school record for the most field goals made.
Was chosen over future co-star Steve Carell in 1995 to join "Saturday Night Live" .
Was named #74 out of 137 on Entertainment Weeklys Must List.
Has a surgical scar on his upper right abdomen from a surgery he had as a baby to treat pyloric stenosis, a condition that causes frequent vomiting.
Every summer, Will and his wife celebrate mid-summer in Sweden, a typical Swedish tradition.
Is only seven years younger than Jane Lynch who plays his mother in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby .
Ranked #17 on EWs The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.
(December 2007) According to Forbes magazine, his movies averaged $8 of gross income for every dollar the actor got paid.
In January 2008, he spent two weeks traveling throughout Ireland with his father, Lee, and brother Patrick.
His first son was born during the filming Kicking & Screaming , which is why it is his favorite of the films he appeared in. He said that he is eager for his son to see it, because he will always associate it with his birth.
Has played the son of two The Godfather cast members: James Caan in Elf , and Robert Duvall in Kicking & Screaming .
Has been attacked by animals in several of his films. He is attacked by grizzly bears (while filming giant pandas) in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy , a cougar in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby , a grizzly bear in Semi-Pro , etc...
Worked as a teller at Wells Fargo when he was in high school.
Has a brief cameo in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult as a man chasing a lawnmower down a flight of stairs during a parody of The Untouchables .
Is a huge fan of the soccer clubs Celtic (from Glasgow) and Chelsea (From London). Can be seen wearing the jerseys from the clubs at events on television.
He was the first and last guest on "The Tonight Show with Conan OBrien" .
Nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Special Theatrical Event "Youre Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush".
Was roommates with Jon Stewart during his early years on "Saturday Night Live" .
Met his wife, Viveca Paulin , in an acting class in 1994.
Third son, Axel Ferrell, was born on January 23, 2010 in Los Angeles.
Former member of the comedy troupe The Groundlings.
Does not do stand-up comedy like most of the "Saturday Night Live" cast and alumni. He considers it to be "hard, lonely and vicious".
Has appeared on the cover of GQ magazine three times: July 2004, July 2006 and December 2006.
On October 24, 2011, he was the 14th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center. Previous recipients include: Tina Fey , Bill Cosby , George Carlin , Billy Crystal , Neil Simon , Steve Martin , Lorne Michaels , Lily Tomlin , Bob Newhart , Whoopi Goldberg , Carl Reiner , Jonathan Winters and Richard Pryor.
On February 13, 2013, while working security during a Lakers game at the Staples Center, Will Ferrell escorted a good-natured Shaquille ONeal away from his courtside seat. The name on Ferrells official red jacket read "Ted Vagina".
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6767 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on March 26, 2015.
Turned down $28 million dollars to be in Elf 2 in late 2013.
Endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election of the United States.
The Evil Genius Beer Company named two of their beers from his dialogue: Santa!! I Know Him! festive saison from Elf , and Ma! The Meatloaf! mango Belgian wit from Wedding Crashers .
Friends with John C. Reilly , and Mark Walberg.
I always forced myself to do crazy things in public. In college I would,push an overhead projector across campus with my pants just low enough,to show my butt.
[on his role as a basketball player in Semi-Pro (2008) ] I love,the fact that this is historically accurate and funny all at the same,time. You can parody the sport and you can parody the era, but at the,same time you have a built-in arc for the audience as they watch this,team try to attain the lofty goal of fourth place.
I rotate my clothes so everything is equally worn. Sometimes, that means,orange shorts and red shoes. My wife is like "Really?".
I have only been funny about seventy four per cent of the time. Yes I think that is right. Seventy-four per cent of the time.
