Over the past few years, it seems that Will Ferrell has done just about everything. He's expanded his acting chops, posed as a L.A. Lakers security guard, anchored the news in North Dakota, and appeared in countless Dodge Durango ads.
This week, Ferrell finally brings us the return of Ron Burgundy in "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," out now. In the long-awaited sequel, Burgundy and his Channel 4 News team take on New York, stopping at nothing to reclaim the No. 1 spot in the ratings.
Whether you're into Ferrell's mustachioed newsman or not, there's still much to know about the A-list comedian. From his humble high school beginnings to beating out a future star for "Saturday Night Live," here are 19 things you probably don't know about Will Ferrell.
1. His father, Roy Lee Ferrell Jr., was a keyboardist and saxophonist for The Righteous Brothers. His mother was a school teacher.
2. While attending University High School in Irvine, California, Ferrell used to make the daily morning announcements in disguised voices. Additionally, he and his friend would perform skits over the intercom, which led to his interest in performing.
3. Ferrell based his iconic Ron Burgundy character on Philadelphia and Detroit news anchor Mort Crim. In a nutshell, Ferrell was watching a documentary on Crim's former co-anchor, Jessica Savitch, and was enamored with Crim's silky baritone voice spewing out sexist and other offensive remarks. After watching the documentary, he immediately called "Anchorman" director and co-writer Adam McKay.
4. He and his wife ran the Boston Marathon in April, 2003. Ferrell's official time was 4 hours, 2 minutes, and 29 seconds. Previously, they ran the New York City Marathon together in 2001, completing the race in 5 hours, 1 minute, and 56 seconds.
5. He beat out future co-star Steve Carell for a spot on "Saturday Night Live" back in 1995.
6. While in high school, he was the varsity football kicker, member of the soccer team, and captain of the basketball team.
7. After graduating from the University of Southern California, he began working as a hotel valet, but on the second day of work, he drove a van under a low-hanging beam and tore the luggage rack off. Later, after working as a teller at Wells Fargo, Ferrell decided to focus on acting and successfully auditioned for the Los Angeles comedy group The Groundlings.
8. While at USC, he would show up in his friends' classes dressed in a janitor's outfit.
9. In 2006, Ferrell became the first "SNL" member to receive a Golden Globe nomination (on behalf of his performance in "The Producers"). He was also nominated the following year for his performance in "Stranger Than Fiction."
10. Ferrell thinks of himself as just another guy, and his love of comedy makes him industrious. He's said, "I'm a lazy person who found this thing that I love... Without it, I'm just another guy."
11. He has three sons: Axel, Magnus, and Mattias.
12. He was the highest paid cast member of "SNL" ever in 2001 with a salary of $350,000. Just a few years later, Ferrell was making upwards of $20 million per movie.
13. In the final bowling match scene of "Kingpin" (2006) between Bill Murray and Woody Harrelson, someone in the crowd shouts, "Ernie, you're the man!" Turns out that someone was Will Ferrell.
14. Ferrell posed with "Talladega Nights" co-star Leslie Bibb on the cover of "Stuff Magazine" for its August 2006 issue.
15. While members of the comedy troupe The Groundlings, Ferrell and Chris Kattan created the characters of the Butabi Brothers. After the two comedians won roles on "SNL," the club-going characters were featured on the show and brought to even greater fame in the film, "A Night at the Roxbury" (1998).
16. Ferrell appeared in the Beastie Boys music video "Make Some Noise" (2011). He was featured playing a cowbell, paying tribute to his Blue Oyster Cult "SNL" sketch.
17. His "SNL" tenure began in 1995 and ran to 2002, when he made the transition to films full-time. He has since returned to the late-night show twice as a host.
18. In 2010, Ferrell made a relief pitching appearance for the Houston Astros Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express. As you probably guessed, the appearance was a gag and featured Ferrell -- introduced as Billy Ray "Rojo" Johnson -- carrying a sack of beers to the mound and quickly getting ejected.
19. In 2007, Ferrell was named the worst celebrity autographer by "Autograph" magazine. The magazine state that he'll taunt fans who ask for his autograph. Ferrell was flustered by the dubious acknowledgement and claims he signs many autographs -- the comedian is known to be an incredibly nice and playful guy. He does admit he'll taunt fans on occasion in order to see how bad the fans really want it!
[Sources: IMDb, Wikipedia, AceShowbiz]
from The Moviefone Blog http://news.moviefone.com/2013/12/20/will-ferrell-facts/
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