| Wed. 08 02. 2006 12:00 AM EDT
From anchorman to NASCAR champion to figure skating whiz in the upcoming Blades of Glory, Will Ferrell has been plugged into lots of oddball roles. But there's a constant, of course: he's pretty much the same hilarious guy in movie after movie. But how much do we really know about the actor?
1. When Ferrell made his first appearance at the Oscars, his name was spelled "Farrell" in twenty-foot letters on the video screen behind him. "Come on Oscars, that's not a hard thing to spell-check," an un-amused Ferrell said later. 2. Sony agreed to make Talladega Nights based entirely on a five-minute pitch by Anchorman director Adam McKay that began: "Six words: Will Ferrell as a NASCAR driver." 3. The head of Hollywood's so-called "Frat Pack" was actually a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity when he attended USC. Other famous Deltas: Drew Carey, John Denver and John Elway. 4. Despite the flabby physique displayed in Old School, he is an avid runner. Ferrell ran the 2003 Boston Marathon in 3 hours, 56 minutes, 13 seconds, the first time he finished in under four hours. 5. In 2001, he became the highest-paid "SNL" cast member in history, earning $350,000. Not bad, considering that when Ferrell first debuted on the show, the Washington Post declared "Will Ferrell, who is tall and curly-haired and plays every part the same way ... [is] hideously inescapable." 6. His father, Lee Ferrell, was a longtime keyboardist for the Righteous Brothers. 7. Before becoming an actor, Ferrell worked as a bank teller. On the first day, his register was $300 short. The next day, it was $280 short. When customers 8. A then unknown Ferrell makes an un-credited appearance in 1996's Kingpin. He can be heard yelling, "You're the man, Ernie!" to Bill Murray in the climactic bowling scene. 9. Ferrell told the authors of Live from New York that Chevy Chase was the "worst host" of "SNL." Ferrell alleged Chase insulted and berated the cast and writing staff all week. 10. What do Ferrell and Robert Redford have in common? Both played Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward -- Redford in All the President's Men, Ferrell in 1999's Dick. 11. When Ferrell met presidential candidate George W. Bush in 2000, Bush seemed to have no idea who he was or that he imitated him on "SNL." Although, to be fair, Ferrell was wearing a fake beard at the time. 12. His wife Viveca Paulin is from Sweden. When her family visited for Christmas 2005, Ferrell dressed up as Tomten, Sweden's equivalent of Santa Claus. "He wears a gray tunic and drinks a lot," Ferrell explained. 13. Ferrell owns so many pairs of shoes that he rotates through the lineup to ensure that each shoe gets worn the same amount. He does the same thing with his clothes. 14. Ferrell considered bringing a suitcase full of Monopoly money to his initial Saturday Night Live interview, offering its mock millions to show boss Lorne Michaels for a place in the cast. 15. His production company is called Gary Sanchez Productions. He claims it's named after a Paraguayan ex-NFL place kicker. But there is no record of a Gary Sanchez ever playing in the NFL. 16. Ferrell made a mysterious cameo appearance as an attorney on the 2003 CBS legal series The Guardian, disguised in glasses and a mustache. He was credited as "Phil Reston." In Kicking and Screaming, his character was named "Phil Weston." 17. He was invited to sit in with hard rockers Queens of the Stone Age in 2005 when he guest-hosted Saturday Night Live. He played the cowbell, in honor of the beloved "More Cowbell!" sketch. 18. One of Ferrell's relaxing things to do to is bathe his dog. 19. In March 2006, a press release claiming that Ferrell was killed in a freak paragliding accident was picked up by news wires. He wasn't, but his Wedding Crashers character jokes about a fatal paragliding mishap. 20. Pam Anderson told reporters Ferrell should play the David Hasselhoff role in the movie version of Baywatch. "That would be so hot," she explained. |
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