Will Ferrell is one of the most gifted comedic actors in the world, because he can play both a relatable everyman dryly reacting to the absurdity around him and the kind of absurd comic personality that surrounds the relatable everyman. As a result, his characters vary from universally likable to hilariously despicable.
Throughout his storied career, Ferrell has played both lovable goofballs like Buddy in Blades of Glory.
Jacobim Mugatu (Zoolander)
Jacobim Mugatu, Ferrell’s unforgettable role from Ben Stiller’s sharp fashion industry satire Zoolander, has a hypercamp personality and hilarious one-liners (“That damm Hansel! He’s so hot right now”) that make him endearing. But he’s a straightforward villain with no true redeeming qualities.
Mugatu plots the assassination of the Prime Minister of Malaysia and brainwashes Derek Zoolander to carry out the hit. He doesn’t even treat his staff with respect. When he’s served a foamy latte, he throws the entire boiling hot beverage in his assistant’s face.
Lord Business (The Lego Movie)
In the surprisingly great The Lego Movie, Ferrell voices the villainous Lord Business. Lord Business is the evil overlord of Bricksburg with a diabolical plot to glue all the Lego bricks together so they can never be reconstructed. The movie’s shocking midpoint twist reveals that all the characters are being controlled by a kid with an extensive Lego collection in his basement.
Lord Business turns out to be a manifestation of the kid’s oppressive dad, “The Man Upstairs,” who bans fun and creativity from his Lego workshop.
Chazz Reinhold (Wedding Crashers)
Ferrell only has a brief uncredited cameo appearance in the original wedding crasher, Chazz Reinhold, the one who trained Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn’s characters in the art of crashing weddings.
Chazz is the depraved womanizer who wrote the playbook on picking up women at weddings. He eventually left the weddings behind and started seducing vulnerable mourners at funerals. Plus, he screams at his mom: “MA! THE MEATLOAF! F***!”
Megamind (Megamind)
What if Lex Luthor managed to kill Superman? That’s the question posed by DreamWorks Animation’s comic book satire Megamind. Ferrell voices the titular supervillain, who finally manages to defeat his city’s superhuman protector, Metro Man, played by Brad Pitt.
With no hero around to foil his evil schemes, Megamind quickly gets bored. Throughout the movie, as a new villain rises up, Megamind unexpectedly learns the virtues of heroism.
Chazz Michael Michaels (Blades Of Glory)
Ferrell’s Blades of Glory character, Chazz Michael Michaels, is a figure skater with the attitude of a punk rocker. Chazz’s cocksure arrogance is a stark counterpoint to his sweet, sensitive rival-turned-partner Jimmy MacElroy.
By the end of the movie, Chazz has become a much nobler person. He doesn’t just look out for himself; he looks out for Jimmy, too.
Ron Burgundy (Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy)
The eponymous news reporter in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is symbolic of the movie’s 1970s setting. He’s regressive and unenlightened on a satirical level. Ron is brash, obnoxious, self-obsessed, and chauvinistic.
When Ed Harken hires a female co-anchor to adapt with the times, Ron is outraged. He does everything in his power to get Veronica Corningstone to quit.
Brennan Huff (Step Brothers)
Brennan Huff, one of the titular 40-year-olds stuck in a state of arrested development in Brennan doesn’t appreciate anything his mom does for him, despite still depending on her as he approaches middle-age: “As soon as she is of age, I am putting her in a home.”
Still, his earnest efforts to grow up and become a more mature person in the third act are somewhat winsome, even though he’s hopelessly unprepared for adult life.
Frank “The Tank” Ricard (Old School)
Frank “The Tank” Ricard is a newlywed who unleashes his inner party animal when his friend Mitch starts his own fraternity in Old School. At first, Frank tries to keep his act together for the sake of his marriage, but he ends up getting drunk and streaking across town.
So, his wife kicks him out and he’s forced to move in with Mitch. Frank constantly proves that he’s far from perfect – from his relentless verbal abuse of the pledges to his repeated attempts to re-gift a breaker – but he makes up for it by being one of Ferrell’s funniest characters.
Ricky Bobby (Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby)
Ferrell and his regular collaborator Adam McKay satirized the tropes and clichés of sports movies in their NASCAR farce Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. The titular racecar driver is a classic underdog.
Ricky is a champion who falls from grace and has to claw his way back to the top. He’s a loudmouthed jerk when he’s on top, but being challenged by French F1 racer Jean Girard humbles him and turns him into a more relatable figure.
Buddy (Elf)
In the past couple of decades, Elf has become a staple of holiday movie nights. A huge part of the movie’s success is Ferrell’s commitment to the bit. He’s wholly believable as a man who was raised as one of Santa’s elves. To say he’s a fish out of water in New York City would be an understatement.
Buddy is too friendly and full of childlike wonder to be unlikable. Everyone he meets in the movie loves him (although it takes some of them a while to come around, like his curmudgeonly biological father).
