Ferrell, Will (1968– )

US actor. He starred on the late-night comedy series Saturday Night Live 1995–2002, and became well known for his impersonations, for example of George W Bush during the 2000 elections. From the early 2000s he became a popular film actor, with a scene-stealing supporting role in the comedy hit Old School and a starring role in the family comedy Elf (both 2003).

His major film debut was in A Night at the Roxbury (1998). He often stars with Ben Stiller and Luke and Owen Wilson, as in Zoolander (2001), Old School (2003), and Starsky & Hutch (2004).

Ferrell was born and grew up in Irvine, California, where he developed an interest in comic acting while in high school. After graduating from the University of Southern California, he became a cable television sportscaster. He began to develop an interest in stand-up comedy, and after training as an actor for a year he became a member of The Groundlings improvisational comedy troupe and appeared on several television series, including Grace Under Fire and Living Single in 1995. Other films include the popular Austin Powers comedies (1997 and 1999), the comic crime caper Drowning Mona (2000), the news comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), the Woody Allen comedy Melinda and Melinda (2004), and the film adaptation of the sitcom Bewitched (2005), opposite Nicole Kidman.