Actor Will Ferrell turns 45 today. Ferrell is known for his hilarious and quotable film characters, from Buddy the Elf to anchorman Ron Burgundy to figure skater Chazz Michael Michaels. His latest movie to hit DVD is
Casa de mi Padre, out tomorrow. Later this summer Ferrell can be seen in the comedy
The Campaign
co-starring Zach Galifianakis. Will Ferrell fans are undoubtedly
looking forward to the
Anchorman 2 movie due to be released in 2013, reuniting the cast from the
original 2004 film, which also starred Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David
Koechner, and Christina Applegate.
I always enjoy the way Ferrell plays off his co-stars, and he had great chemistry with his news team in
Anchorman. I especially loved the back and forth insult slinging between Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Applegate). Ferrell and John C. Reilly were a great partnership as NASCAR drivers in
Talladega Nights, and as rivals who become best friends in
Step Brothers:
Brennan: Listen, I know that we started out as foe. But after that courageous act that you showed me against the one they call Derek, maybe someday we could become friends. Friends who ride majestic, translucent steeds, shooting flaming arrows across the bridge of Hemdale.
Dale: I would follow you into the mists of Avalon if that's what you mean.
Ferrell also shared hilarious scenes with Mark Wahlberg in
The Other Guys. Wahlberg, as NYC police detective Terry, couldn't stand to be around Ferrell's character Allen Gamble, who he saw as weak and a "fake cop." Terry used a metaphor comparing himself to a lion and Allen to a tuna, and told Allen that he would even go outside the food chain to attack him. Allen came right back at Terry and explained why a tuna could take a lion in the ocean "9 times out of 10":
OK, first off: a lion, swimming in the ocean. Lions don't like water. If you placed it near a river or some sort of fresh water source, that make sense. But you find yourself in the ocean, 20 foot wave, I'm assuming off the coast of South Africa, coming up against a full grown 800 pound tuna with his 20 or 30 friends, you lose that battle, you lose that battle 9 times out of 10. And guess what, you've wandered into our school of tuna and we now have a taste of lion. We've talked to ourselves. We've communicated and said 'You know what, lion tastes good, let's go get some more lion'. We've developed a system to establish a beach-head and aggressively hunt you and your family and we will corner your pride, your children, your offspring.
And that's not even the end of that scene. Another one of my favorite Will Ferrell roles was Buddy in
Elf. A "human raised by elves," Buddy was happy all of the time, saw the good in everyone, and loved candy: "We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup."
Ferrell is also not afraid to let loose and sing, which he's done in several of his films. Check out a clip of his performance of "Something to Talk About" in
Step Brothers:
Happy birthday to the songbird of his generation, Will Ferrell!
I named a few of my favorite Will Ferrell moments. What is your favorite Will Ferrell scene and/or quote?
