Match The Will Ferrell Role To The Movie!
- by Ben Sherlock
- – on
- in Movies and TV
There’s a strong argument to be made that Will Ferrell is the funniest person in the entire world. In any movie he is ever in, he is guaranteed to make you laugh. Even if the movie itself sucks as a whole, you know you’ll get at least a few decent laughs out of it if he’s in it. He has a way of going all in with the roles he plays and disappearing into the absurdity of a scenario to make his emotions in the situation and the situation itself totally believable, and therefore it works. He’s like a comedy magician. He makes jokes work. And what’s more, the best of his movies were actually written by Ferrell himself. So, if he acts in them, he makes them better, and if he writes the screenplay for them, he makes them even better than that. He’s an indispensable asset to any comedy movie. If you’ve got Ferrell, you know you’re in good hands. He’s like a safety net. Everyone else can slack off and do a sloppy job, but as long as Ferrell is on the ball (and even greater if he’s being directed by his long time collaborator Adam McKay), then you know you’re going to get at least a decent movie out of it, and if you’re lucky, it’ll be a comedy classic like Anchorman or Talladega Nights. Will Ferrell has played a wide range of roles throughout his career, both on the silver screen and on Saturday Night Live and in guest parts on various hit TV shows. The guy’s a dynamo. But how well do you know the characters he’s played? Can you match these Will Ferrell roles to the movie or TV show he played them in?
Buddy
Will Ferrell played Buddy in one of the greatest Christmas movies ever made. It’s a classic, with so many memorable scenes, moments, and quotes – the rapid fire snowball fight with the Crocodile Dundee moment, the Coke chugging scene with the extended belch at the end, the syrup and candy toppings on spaghetti. It’s all so hilarious and well written. Ferrell stars as Buddy alongside James Caan as his uncaring, workaholic father, and Mary Steenburgen as his adorable stepmom. What movie is it?
Ricky Bobby
Ricky Bobby is a character who is rather full of himself, as evidenced by his famous quote, “Here’s the deal: I’m the best there is. Plain and simple. I wake up in the morning and I piss excellence.” He’s a NASCAR driver and the symbol of American arrogance. When a French Formula 1 driver threatens to break his arm unless he says, “I like crepes,” Ricky tells him to “go ahead and break my arm.” It’s like a political cartoon. What movie is it?
Brennan Huff
In this movie, Will Ferrell plays a 39 year old man named Brennan Huff who still lives with his mother. He’s an archetypal loser. What Ferrell and his writing partner Adam McKay set out to do with the movie was create a ridiculous absurdist comedy that would lose money – that was their goal. And it ended up being one of their most successful movies ever. It just goes to show, you can’t predict the success of a movie. What movie was this one?
Lord Business
Will Ferrell’s movies usually tend to aim toward an adult audience. Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, Get Hard – they all skew an adult audience with their raunchy situations, explicit language, sexual references, and occasional graphic violence. But he does do the odd kids’ movie that the whole family can enjoy, including Daddy’s Home, Blades of Glory, and this animated flick that was critically acclaimed and grossed a hefty box office haul. In what movie did Ferrell play the villain Lord Business?
Ron Burgundy
Ron Burgundy is quite possibly Will Ferrell’s best loved and best remembered role ever. It’s his arrogant newsman who is a self-proclaimed “kind of a big deal.” The character and the movie he is in were both so well received and successful that they earned a sequel, which wasn’t quite as good at the first one, but was still a really enjoyable and funny movie in comparison to most of the competition. What movie did Ferrell play Ron Burgundy in?
Brad Whitaker
In playing the role of Brad Whitaker, Will Ferrell perfectly captured the struggles of the stepdad and the difficulties of forging a connection with someone else’s kids when you become their guardian. He starred opposite Mark Wahlberg, who played Dusty Mayron, in what turned out to be a hilarious movie that became a smash hit at the box office, grossing over $200 million worldwide – enough to earn the movie a sequel that will be released pretty soon. What movie is it?
Chazz Michael Michaels
This movie is beloved. The Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus for this movie states, “Thanks to the spirited performances of a talented cast – particularly Will Ferrell and Jon Heder as rivals turned teammates – ______ successfully spoofs inspirational sports dramas with inspired abandon.” Critics particularly loved Ferrell’s performance: “There is a parodic exhilaration to everything Ferrell does; there’s always the sense that any scene is precariously close to being a blooper reel.” So, which Will Ferrell movie features Chazz Michael Michaels?
Allen Gamble
Detective Allen Gamble was Will Ferrell playing a straight laced desk jockey cop who was more than he seemed. As the movie went on, you found out that he had a really hot wife (who he thought was plain and ugly), he used to be a pimp in college, he’s gullible enough to be conned into shooting the ceiling in the police station, and he drives like a maniac. For most of the movie, he carries a wooden gun. What movie is it?
James King
With this movie, Will Ferrell was paired up with Kevin Hart. They’re both terrifically funny men and consistently attract big numbers at the box office, so it’s a wonder that it took the movie studios until 2015 to pair them up, but when they did, it was a very offensive movie about a rich white man training with a lower class black man as he prepares for a stint in prison after being framed by his bosses. What movie is it?
Frank the Tank
In this college comedy movie about the frat lifestyle, Will Ferrell plays a middle aged man who used to be a crazy booze hound party animal in college who goes back to his old ways, much to the chagrin of his wife, when his friend Luke Wilson invites a college fraternity to come and live in his new house. Vince Vaughn is in the movie, too, from director Todd Philips, who would later give us The Hangover. What movie is it?
Jackie Moon
Jackie Moon is an interesting character. He is a soul singer who had one big hit song with “Love Me Sexy” and now gets by as a basketball player in a really crummy, low rent team. The movie also stars Woody Harrelson, Andre 3000, and Will Arnett in supporting roles. Sadly, it cost $90 million to make and didn’t gross anywhere near that. It also didn’t get many positive reviews on its initial theatrical release, but it did deserve a lot more than it got. What movie is it?
Mugatu
Mugatu – full name Jacobim Mugatu – is a ruthless fashion mogul played by Will Ferrell. He has a ridiculous appearance, both in his flamboyant fashion choices and his very precise hair styling, but that’s exactly what you would expect from the weirdos in the modeling world. They are exactly the people that this satirical movie was intended to poke fun at. It also stars Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson and a raft of cameo appearances (including, unfortunately, Donald Trump). What movie is it?
Harold Crick
In this weird little meta movie, a mix of comedy and drama, Will Ferrell plays a man named Harold Crick who realizes he is a character in a novel when he hears the voice of the author who created him narrating his life in voiceover. He starts to worry when she says that he’s going to die soon, but luckily that knowledge helps him to loosen up and become a happier man in the process, because he knows it’s almost over. What movie is it?
Deangelo Vickers
Okay, this is technically a TV show and not a movie, but it is still a really memorable and terrific Will Ferrell character. Ferrell guest starred in a popular and highly acclaimed workplace comedy series as the replacement boss for four episodes until he tried to slam dunk a basketball and brought the whole hoop down with him. He ended up in hospital and sadly, he was never heard from again. Hope he’s all right. What TV show was it?
Scott “The Butcher” Johansen
Will Ferrell played clueless family man Scott Johansen, also known as “The Butcher,” who struggles with even the most basic mathematical questions and doesn’t know what a 401(k) is, in a dark comedy that was released earlier this year. It tanked at the box office, but it wasn’t all bad. It couldn’t possibly be with Ferrell starring alongside Amy Poehler – they play a couple who open an illegal casino in order to pay for their daughter’s college tuition. What movie was it?
The Black Knight
Again, technically this one is a TV show and not a movie. This was a guest voice appearance in one of Fox’s adult oriented animated family comedy series as a character called The Black Knight in an episode called “Mr. Saturday Knight” from that show’s third season. R. Lee Ermey from Full Metal Jacket and Jimmy Kimmel also made guest appearances in this episode of the show, which also marked the final appearance of one of its recurring characters, Mr. Weed. But what show was it?
Cam Brady
Will Ferrell plays political candidate Cam Brady in a political satire movie that lampoons the election system of America and the influence of corporate money on political campaigns. The movie co-stars Zach Galifianakis as Cam Brady’s rival candidate, Marty Huggins, and there’s a lot of wacky set pieces in the movie, including Will Ferrell punching a baby in the face. (He wasn’t aiming for it, but he did do it.) So, which movie did Will Ferrell play Cam Brady in?
Dr. Rick Marshall
Will Ferrell played a scientist character named Dr. Rick Marshall in a silly, surreal sci-fi comedy that was a cinematic update of an old TV show. The movie was a box office bomb that cost $100 million to make and didn’t make back nearly that amount (let alone profit), and it was also nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture. However, it is pretty funny and it’s very watchable. In which movie did Ferrell play Dr. Rick Marshall?
Chazz Reinhold
Will Ferrell’s cameo role as Chazz Reinhold only lasted for one scene and he went uncredited for it in the final movie, which stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. Chazz Reinhold picks up women at funerals and yells at his mother for not getting him meat loaf. This movie made strides for the R-rated comedy movie, as its success made way for films like The Hangover, Ted, Superbad, Step Brothers, Bridesmaids, and all the others. What movie is Chazz from?
Phil Weston
The sports comedy movie in which Will Ferrell plays Phil Weston is a lot better than its reputation as a terrible piece of work would have you believe. Phil is a patsy who becomes his son’s sports coach when his vengeful father in law becomes the coach of the rival team. This is a pretty generic premise, but it’s elevated by Ferrell’s character’s Goodfellas-esque rise and fall and his Scarface-esque addiction (to coffee, though, not cocaine). What movie is it?
Big Earl
This is not the only buddy cop movie that Will Ferrell has appeared in, but it is the only one where he’s not one of the cops. Instead, he plays Big Earl, an informant who is behind bars and is also a sexual deviant. He wears a hair net over his greasy hair and he has a deranged look in his eye throughout his entire scene (for which he was uncredited). Which movie, based on an old TV show, was it?
Franz Liebkind
Franz Liebkind is a classic character in the world of comedy, dating back to a renowned Mel Brooks movie from the 1960s. He is a German playwright who wrote the infamous musical Springtime for Hitler, a staged tribute to the Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. It’s okay, though, because Brooks served in World War II and is Jewish. Liebkind’s name is a joke in itself: a humorous calque into German of the English idiom “love child.” What movie is the character of Franz Liebkind from?
Mustafa
Will Ferrell actually played the role of Mustafa in two movies, both from the same franchise. The franchise is one of those ones where fans have been begging for years for the filmmakers to do another one, and yet we’re still waiting. It’s a culturally iconic film series, starring Mike Myers as a ‘60s swinger who is frozen and then thawed out in the 1990s, only to be met with a culture shock when he finds how much the world has changed. What movie is it?
Marshal Willenholly
Will Ferrell played a character called Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly in a silly but enjoyable comedy movie written and directed by Kevin Smith, a guy who began his career by maxing out ten credit cards, selling off his vintage comic book collection, and building up copious amounts of debt in order to fund his independent feature debut. Then he made this movie, which he starred in alongside Jason Mewes, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jason Lee... and Will Ferrell. Which movie was it?
Nick Halsey
Will Ferrell played Nick Halsey in a movie based on a short story by the phenomenal writer Raymond Carver called “Why Don’t You Do?” It was not an improvement over Carver’s storytelling, but it is still a neat little movie with elements of both comedy and drama. It’s about an alcoholic who loses his wife and his job and, in the hope of starting his life over, he sits on his lawn and sells all of his stuff. What movie is it?