A graduate of the University of Southern California, Will Ferrell became interested in performing while a student at University High School in Irvine, California, where he made his school's daily morning announcements over the public address system in disguised voices. He started as a member of the Los Angeles comedy/improvisation group The Groundlings, where fellow cast members Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph and former Saturday Night Live repertory players such as Laraine Newman, Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman began their careers. It was there he met Chris Kattan and the two became good friends and both went on to Saturday Night Live later. He has also appeared on several television programs, including Strangers with Candy, Grace Under Fire and Living Single during his time at The Groundlings. Will also lent his voice to the armless and legless dad of cartoon family The Oblongs.
In 1995 he became a feature cast member at Saturday Night Live during the show's rapid re-casting. He was declared quite possibly the worst cast member ever during his first season. However, his talents of impersonations and range of characters shot him forward to making him arguably the greatest Saturday Night Live cast member ever. During his seven year run he is one of the few cast members to ever be nominated for an Emmy for a performance and played George W. Bush during the 2000 elections. He's appeared in every Saturday Night Live movie since his premiere on the show in 1995. In 2002 he left Saturday Night Live and was the only cast member to ever receive a farewell from all the current cast members at the end of the season finale show. Since leaving the show Will has pursued a career in films. In 2000 he married and now lives in L.A.
Movies
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Mustafa
Stranger Than Fiction
Harold Crick
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly
Elf
Buddy
Old School
Frank
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Ron Burgundy
Step Brothers
Brennan Huff
The Wendell Baker Story
Dave
Zoolander
Mugatu
Starsky & Hutch
Big Earl (uncredited)
A Night at the Roxbury
Steve Butabi
Wedding Crashers
Chazz Reinhold (uncredited)
Melinda and Melinda
Hobie
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Ricky Bobby
Bewitched
Jack Wyatt
The Producers
Franz Liebkind
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie
Ron Burgundy
Blades of Glory
Chazz Michael Michaels
The Other Guys
Detective Allen Gamble
Kicking & Screaming
Phil Weston
Semi-Pro
Jackie Moon
Superstar
Sky Corrigan / Jesus
Winter Passing
Corbit
The Landlord
Tenant
Megamind
Megamind (voice)
Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America - A Final Night with George W. Bush
George W. Bush
Dick
Bob Woodward
Everything Must Go
Nick Halsey
The Ladies Man
Lance DeLune
Land of the Lost
Dr. Rick Marshall
Casa de Mi Padre
Armando Alvarez
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
McDermott (uncredited)
Megamind: The Button of Doom
Megamind (voice)
The Campaign
Cam Brady
Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie
Damien Weebs
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Ron Burgundy
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell - Volume 2
The Internship
Kevin (uncredited)
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell
Himself / Various Characters (archive footage)
The Lego Movie
Lord Business / President Business / The Man Upstairs
The Procedure
Bob
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Jimmy Fallon
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Commercial Parodies
Get Hard
James King
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Mustafa
Zoolander 2
Jacobim Mugatu
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Phil Hartman
Self / Nancy Reagan / Various Characters
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Phil Hartman
Troy
Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber
Ron Burgundy
A Deadly Adoption
Robert Benson
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Kattan
Himself
Ferrell Takes the Field
Himself
Daddy's Home
Brad Whitaker
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Molly Shannon
Self
Daddy's Home 2
Brad
Holmes & Watson
Sherlock Holmes
Curious George
Ted (Man with the Yellow Hat) (voice)
The House
Scott Johansen/The Butcher
The Thin Pink Line
Darren Clark
Men Seeking Women
Al
Drowning Mona
Cubby
The Suburbans
Gil
A.C. Green: Iron Virgin
Narrator
Larry's Kidney
Fight for Your Right Revisited
Ad-Rock (B-Boys 2)
Criminal Hearts
Newscaster (uncredited)
A Bucket of Blood
Good Cop, Baby Cop
Angel
Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party
Self
Boat Trip
Michael, Brian's Boyfriend (uncredited)
Bat Fight with Will Ferrell
The 2018 Rose Parade Hosted by Cord & Tish
Cord Hosenbeck
The Royal Wedding Live with Cord and Tish!
Cord Hosenbeck
The Concert for New York City
Self
Downhill
Pete Stanton
The Prince of Fashion
The 2019 Rose Parade with Cord & Tish
Cord Hosenbeck
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
President Business / Dad
Star Wars Spoofs
Himself
MTV Reloaded
The Architect
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons"
Tom Willis
Between Two Ferns: The Movie
Will Ferrell
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Lars Erickssong
And the Oscar Goes To...
Self (archive footage)
Spirited
Present
The Women of SNL
Ted Nettters / Craig Buchanan / Alex Trebek / Various (archive footage)
Untitled The Legend of Cocaine Island Remake
Green Team
Arnold Darkshner
Old School: Orientation
Himself
Drunk Parents
Bum
Feeding America Comedy Festival
Self
Impractical Jokers: The Movie
Miami Restaurant Guy #4
David
Therapist
VOMO: Vote or Miss Out
Self
American Huckster
Chuck Blazer
John and Will's Animal Choices
Will
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special
Self
Presidential Reunion
George W. Bush
Strays
Reggie (voice)
Ricky Bobby: Sports Century
Ricky Bobby (archive footage)
Barbie
Mattel CEO
SpongeBob's Truth or Square
Self
You’re Cordially Invited
The Love We Make
Self
Zeroville
Rondell
Earth to America
George W. Bush
Quiz Lady
Terry McTeer
Pickled
Self
537 Votes
George W. Bush (archive footage)
They're Lit, But Are They Bros?
Buddy (pictured)
Madden
John Madden
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell - Volume 3
Saturday Night Live: 40th Anniversary Special
Self / Alex Trebek / Marty Culp
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Self
Will & Harper
Self
SNL Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas
A Saturday Night Live Christmas Special
Despicable Me 4
Maxime Le Mal (voice)
The Roast of Tom Brady
Ron Burgundy
Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber
Ron Burgundy / Himself
Shows
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The One Show
Self - Guest
Today
Self
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
The Daily Show
Self
The Office
Deangelo Vickers
Cow and Chicken
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
30 Rock
Shane Hunter
The Megan Mullally Show
On Our Own
Construction Worker
The Oscars
Self
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
Self - Guest
Drunk History
Roald Dahl
Curious George
Best Week Ever
Family Guy
The Black Knight (voice)
The Guardian
Strangers with Candy
Bob Whitely
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Self
The Oblongs
Bob Oblong (voice)
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Self
Hercules
Geryon (voice)
The Early Show
Self
HypaSpace
Self
Eastbound & Down
Ashley Schaeffer
The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show
TRL
Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Saturday Night Live
Self - Various Characters
The Spoils of Babylon
Eric Jonrosh
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Self
Billy on the Street
Self
The Spoils Before Dying
Eric Jonrosh
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Self
The Graham Norton Show
Self
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
The Reichen Show
Self
No Activity
Adrian
WWE Raw
Man vs. Wild
Self
Saturday Night Live
Self
Saturday Night Live
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self
The Shrink Next Door
Marty Markowitz
Hot Ones
Self
Off Camera with Sam Jones
Self
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Self
Conan
Self
Inside Comedy
Self
The Holiday Movies That Made Us
Self (archive footage)
Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil
Self
Conan
Ron Burgundy
Family Guy
Fat Greek Guy / Miles 'Chatterbox' Musket (voice)
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self - Guest
Kids' Choice Awards
Self
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Self
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Ron Burgundy
Welcome to Sweden
Will Ferrell
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Donald Mahanahan
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Mamet the Moocher (voice)
The Men In Blazers Show
Self
King of the Hill
Coach Lucas (voice)
Hot Ones
We Are LAFC
Self
Saturday Night Live
Self - Cameo (uncredited)
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Self - Guest
Welcome to Wrexham
Self
SpongeBob SquarePants
MTV Movie & TV Awards
Self / Presenter
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self
SmartLess: On the Road
The Kelly Clarkson Show
@midnight with Chris Hardwick
Self - Guest
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest
Stupid Pet Tricks
Ranger Jim
John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in L.A.
Lou Adler