It’s difficult to argue that Will Ferrell invests anything less than 100 percent in the characters he plays on television, whether they be a wicked fashion magnate or a dim-witted NASCAR driver. The Emmy-nominated performer originally made his name as a cast member of Saturday Night Live in 1995. From that point until his retirement as a regular in 2002, he portrayed memorable recurrent characters like George W. Bush and Alex Trebek. Ferrell has, however, demonstrated that he can also do successful dramatic work. Below are some of his better performances over the years, organised with the aid of Collider.
1. Buddy the Elf in Elf (2003)
Director- Jon Favreau
Buddy was an infant living at an orphanage who got into Santa’s bag and travelled to the North Pole. Santa later permits him to visit New York City to locate his birth father, Walter Hobbs, who just so happened to have been raised by elves. He wasn’t even aware that Buddy had been born, and he’s already on Santa’s naughty list for being a cruel jerk. While this is happening, Buddy enjoys New York City and human society to the fullest extent possible for an elf. He is compelled to reassess his priorities when Walter’s relationship with him interferes with his ability to do his job.
2. Harold Crick in Stranger than Fiction (2006)
Director- Marc Forster
I.R.S. Agent Harold Crick has lived a routinely lonely life for twelve years under the watch’s direction. But one day he overhears a narration of his life in which it is stated that he would pass away shortly. While doing so, he develops feelings for Ana Pascal, the proprietor of a bakery that is in debt to the IRS. Professor Jules Hilbert counsels Harold to alter his monotonous way of life while he seeks out Karen Eiffel, the author of the story of his life, who is looking into ways to kill the protagonist, and persuades her to alter the story’s conclusion. Karen Eiffel is researching ways to kill the protagonist.
3. Ron Burgundy in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Director- Adam McKay
San Diego, around 1970. At a local TV news station, Ron Burgundy serves as the anchorman. He’s well-liked and well-known in the area. Everything is going really well, and his news piece is number one in every demographic. On the other hand, his news crew is all men and has a boys club vibe to it. A female reporter named Veronica Corningstone is hired by the station as part of an effort to increase diversity. Ron struggles with his own misogyny and his attraction to her, while the rest of the team is horrified by the choice. A close bond develops between Ron and Veronica right away. They become divided by a circumstance, though, and the two get into a hostile argument.
4. Lars Erickssong in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
Director- David Dobkin
A singing duo named “Fire Saga” is made up of Sigrit Ericksdottir and Lars Erickssong, two childhood friends from the small village of Hsavk in Iceland. Their goal is to represent their nation at the Eurovision Song Contest one day. Fire Saga are the only survivors of the Icelandic final contestants’ boat explosion during the post-competition party and are given the opportunity to represent Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, by default. This is because the majority of the competitors, including the winner, perished in the explosion. With Russia being the clear favourite, the pair are seen as underdogs. They must show that they are capable of winning in front of Europe.
5. Jacobim Mugatu in Zoolander (2001)
Director- Ben Stiller
After three years of consistently receiving the “Male Model of the Year” award, male supermodel Derek Zoolander is on the decline. Derek begins looking for a new purpose in life after being defeated by the attractive newcomer Hansel. Exactly at that moment, Mugatu, the king of fashion, offers Derek a chance to make a comeback with his brand-new “Derelicte” collection. Nobody guessed that Mugatu had planned to kill the new Malaysian Prime Minister while he was in New York, keeping the supply of cheap child labour open for his fashion manufacturing. Mugatu and his evil partner Katinka make Zoolander an eager and obedient murderer by brainwashing him. Only Matilda, a journalist for Time Magazine, suspects Derek slowly and attempts to stop him.
6. Mustafa in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Director- Jay Roach
1967 in a jazzy London. The British super-agent and fun-loving hedonist Austin Powers gets himself cryogenically preserved in case the world ever needs his services once more after foiling an ambitious assassination plot by his arch-nemesis, Dr Evil. However, three arduous decades later, the world is once more in danger from pure evil, and the time has come to defrost Powers. A fish out of water, the bespectacled hero teams up with his bright new sidekick, Vanessa Kensington, to help him navigate his way through a strange new environment. But since the 1960s, a lot has changed.
7. Sherlock Holmes in Holmes and Watson (2018)
Director- Etan Cohen
To look into a suspicious death at Buckingham Palace, Dr. John Watson and Detective Sherlock Holmes team up. Professor James Moriarty, the criminal genius and lifelong foe of the crime-solving team, appears to be the obvious suspect in what appears to be an open-and-shut case. The world’s top detective and his dependable assistant must now use their famed cunning and creative thinking to find the killer before the queen becomes the next victim when fresh twists and clues start to surface.
