WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.799 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today, we are 00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:07.400 opening a file on a figure who is just so, so 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:09.939 ubiquitous in our culture, so woven into the 00:00:09.939 --> 00:00:12.519 fabric of the last, what, 30 years of entertainment, 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:14.640 that I think we've actually stopped seeing him 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:17.399 clearly. He's almost like background noise at 00:00:17.399 --> 00:00:19.640 this point. He is. We quote him at weddings. 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:24.059 We meme him on social media. We dress like his 00:00:24.059 --> 00:00:26.079 characters for Halloween. We're talking about 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:29.120 the man who made the cowbell a lead instrument 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:31.859 and convinced the world that a grown man could 00:00:31.859 --> 00:00:35.159 be raised by elves. We are talking about Will 00:00:35.159 --> 00:00:37.820 Ferrell. It's so easy to just caricature, isn't 00:00:37.820 --> 00:00:39.439 it? When you think of Will Ferrell, the immediate 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:41.640 association is, well, it's volume. It's shouting. 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:44.439 Yeah. You think of man children, you think of 00:00:44.439 --> 00:00:46.380 and let's be honest, a surprising amount of nudity 00:00:46.380 --> 00:00:49.460 for a mainstream star. But the stack of research 00:00:49.460 --> 00:00:52.780 we have today paints a picture that is I mean, 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:55.439 it's almost diametrically opposed to that surface 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:57.520 level image. We aren't just looking at a comedian. 00:00:57.539 --> 00:01:00.520 We're looking at a genuine cultural force who 00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:04.000 managed to bridge the gap between sketch comedy, 00:01:04.180 --> 00:01:07.129 massive blockbuster filmmaking and. And this 00:01:07.129 --> 00:01:08.969 is the part that I think usually shocks people, 00:01:09.109 --> 00:01:11.689 high prestige television production. That is 00:01:11.689 --> 00:01:13.170 the part that really got me going through the 00:01:13.170 --> 00:01:15.810 materials. It's the big surprise. Because we 00:01:15.810 --> 00:01:17.950 all know the quotes. We know I'm in a glass case 00:01:17.950 --> 00:01:21.090 of emotion. We know more cowbell. But the sources 00:01:21.090 --> 00:01:23.290 we have today, the biographical records, the 00:01:23.290 --> 00:01:25.650 business history of his production companies, 00:01:25.730 --> 00:01:28.530 the archive of interviews, they reveal this central 00:01:28.530 --> 00:01:30.930 paradox that I really want to unpack. Okay. Because 00:01:30.930 --> 00:01:32.450 when you look at his characters, they are all 00:01:32.450 --> 00:01:34.969 just pure chaos. They're unhinged. They're usually 00:01:34.969 --> 00:01:36.829 teetering on the verge. of a complete nervous 00:01:36.829 --> 00:01:39.950 breakdown but the man himself The man himself 00:01:39.950 --> 00:01:42.709 is the complete opposite. And that's really the 00:01:42.709 --> 00:01:45.010 hook of today's deep dive. I think we have this 00:01:45.010 --> 00:01:47.489 massive contradiction of a man who built an entire 00:01:47.489 --> 00:01:51.629 career on instability, on absurdity and total 00:01:51.629 --> 00:01:54.769 unpredictability. Yet his origins are, you could 00:01:54.769 --> 00:01:56.829 argue, the most stable, the most normal and maybe 00:01:56.829 --> 00:01:59.409 the most boring of any major Hollywood star in 00:01:59.409 --> 00:02:02.250 history. Exactly. So our mission today is to 00:02:02.250 --> 00:02:05.269 move past the anchorman one liners and the elf 00:02:05.269 --> 00:02:08.090 quotes. We want to understand the business acumen, 00:02:08.189 --> 00:02:10.979 the very. specific comedic philosophy and the 00:02:10.979 --> 00:02:14.840 surprisingly poignant personal history of John 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:17.560 William Farrell. We want to know how the sausage 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:20.319 is made or, you know, in this case, how the chaos 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:22.889 is so perfectly manufactured. And we have a lot 00:02:22.889 --> 00:02:24.669 to get through. We have the filmography, which 00:02:24.669 --> 00:02:26.930 is, I mean, it's massive. But we also have the 00:02:26.930 --> 00:02:29.370 business ventures, which literally changed the 00:02:29.370 --> 00:02:31.110 Internet landscape. We have sports ownership 00:02:31.110 --> 00:02:33.090 and all these little personal anecdotes that 00:02:33.090 --> 00:02:35.289 kind of explain why he is the way he is. Let's 00:02:35.289 --> 00:02:37.030 start at the very beginning, because usually 00:02:37.030 --> 00:02:39.770 when we do these deep dives on comedians, there 00:02:39.770 --> 00:02:42.050 is a pattern we almost expected at this point. 00:02:42.129 --> 00:02:44.889 Oh, yeah. The tears of a clown trope. The tears 00:02:44.889 --> 00:02:50.430 of a clown. Trauma. A broken home. A really difficult 00:02:50.430 --> 00:02:53.620 childhood. Using comedy as a defense mechanism 00:02:53.620 --> 00:02:57.159 against a harsh world. But Will Ferrell. Will 00:02:57.159 --> 00:02:59.840 Ferrell just breaks that mold entirely. He was 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:03.259 born in 1967 in Irvine, California. And we really 00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:05.599 need to pause on Irvine for a second. OK. If 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:07.479 you know anything about Southern California geography, 00:03:07.780 --> 00:03:10.419 especially back in the 70s and 80s, you know 00:03:10.419 --> 00:03:12.919 that Irvine is essentially the dictionary definition 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:17.620 of a safe master plan suburb. It's beige. The 00:03:17.620 --> 00:03:20.580 city. That's what I picture. It's manicured lawns 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:23.449 and. Homeowners associations telling you your 00:03:23.449 --> 00:03:25.710 grass is half an inch too long. Precisely. It 00:03:25.710 --> 00:03:27.770 is aggressive normalcy. And Farrell has actually 00:03:27.770 --> 00:03:29.210 spoken about this at length in the interviews 00:03:29.210 --> 00:03:31.990 we reviewed. He calls it Mayberry. Wow. He didn't 00:03:31.990 --> 00:03:33.930 have to fight for survival. He didn't grow up 00:03:33.930 --> 00:03:35.629 in a tough neighborhood where you had to be the 00:03:35.629 --> 00:03:37.509 funny kid to keep from getting beaten up. He 00:03:37.509 --> 00:03:39.150 had the complete opposite problem. He was bored. 00:03:39.610 --> 00:03:42.129 He was just bored. I love that concept. The idea 00:03:42.129 --> 00:03:44.550 that his comedy didn't come from trauma. It came 00:03:44.550 --> 00:03:46.969 from an utter lack of drama. He specifically 00:03:46.969 --> 00:03:50.490 cited that dullness as the catalyst for his entire 00:03:50.490 --> 00:03:53.669 creative impulse. He said because there was no 00:03:53.669 --> 00:03:56.750 drama in Irvine he had to, and this is a quote, 00:03:56.889 --> 00:04:00.259 create it in his head. So his imagination was 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:02.500 his escape. Yeah. His main form of entertainment 00:04:02.500 --> 00:04:04.659 was just cracking his friends up to break the 00:04:04.659 --> 00:04:07.659 monotony. It's this fascinating inversion of 00:04:07.659 --> 00:04:10.560 the standard comedian backstory. He wasn't escaping 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:13.759 tragedy. He was escaping safety. He wasn't running 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:15.580 away from something terrible. He was running 00:04:15.580 --> 00:04:18.829 away from something incredibly mundane. But there 00:04:18.829 --> 00:04:20.550 was a little bit of showbiz in the blood, wasn't 00:04:20.550 --> 00:04:22.850 there? I mean, his dad wasn't an accountant or 00:04:22.850 --> 00:04:25.610 a dentist? No, not at all. His father, Roy Lee 00:04:25.610 --> 00:04:28.089 Farrell Jr., was a working musician. And we're 00:04:28.089 --> 00:04:30.170 not talking about playing dive bars on the weekend. 00:04:30.430 --> 00:04:32.829 He played saxophone and keyboards for the Righteous 00:04:32.829 --> 00:04:35.149 Brothers. That sounds incredibly cool on paper. 00:04:35.310 --> 00:04:38.029 A rock and roll dad touring the world. It sounds 00:04:38.029 --> 00:04:40.990 cool to us now, but for a child in the 70s, it 00:04:40.990 --> 00:04:44.069 just represented instability. His parents divorced 00:04:44.069 --> 00:04:46.529 when he was eight. Now, Farrell describes the 00:04:46.529 --> 00:04:48.829 divorce as totally amicable. He was the type 00:04:48.829 --> 00:04:51.189 of optimistic kid who said, great, two Christmases. 00:04:51.829 --> 00:04:54.829 But the impact of his father's career was, well, 00:04:55.029 --> 00:04:57.870 it was profound on his worldview. In a way. He 00:04:57.870 --> 00:04:59.750 saw the paychecks that weren't steady. He saw 00:04:59.750 --> 00:05:01.730 his dad having to travel for months at a time. 00:05:01.829 --> 00:05:04.009 He saw the feast or famine nature of the gig 00:05:04.009 --> 00:05:06.449 economy before we even called it that. He saw 00:05:06.449 --> 00:05:08.930 a life that was completely unpredictable. And 00:05:08.930 --> 00:05:10.810 this is where the young Will Farrell makes a 00:05:10.810 --> 00:05:13.079 decision that is just... Hilarious in hindsight, 00:05:13.220 --> 00:05:15.500 considering where he ended up. He looks at his 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:17.860 dad's showbiz life and says, no thank you. He 00:05:17.860 --> 00:05:19.879 explicitly did not want to go into show business. 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:22.220 It was the last thing he wanted. His rebellion 00:05:22.220 --> 00:05:24.779 wasn't to run away and join the circus. His rebellion 00:05:24.779 --> 00:05:27.480 was to want a steady job. He wanted a briefcase. 00:05:27.620 --> 00:05:29.439 He wanted a briefcase. He wanted to come home 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:32.199 at 5 p .m. He wanted a 401k. He wanted total, 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:35.660 absolute normalcy. And he really, really tried, 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:38.009 didn't he? I mean, looking at his post -college 00:05:38.009 --> 00:05:41.009 years, it is just a comedy of errors of him trying 00:05:41.009 --> 00:05:44.110 to be a normal, regular guy. Oh, it's incredible. 00:05:44.269 --> 00:05:46.449 He graduated from USC with a degree in sports 00:05:46.449 --> 00:05:48.470 information. He thought, OK, maybe he'd be a 00:05:48.470 --> 00:05:50.730 sportscaster. That's at least adjacent to a real 00:05:50.730 --> 00:05:54.029 job, but still kind of in the entertainment sphere. 00:05:54.250 --> 00:05:55.850 It's got a structure. It has a structure. Right. 00:05:56.110 --> 00:05:59.850 But the attempts at actual regular nine to five 00:05:59.850 --> 00:06:04.269 employment were. They were disastrous. The hotel 00:06:04.269 --> 00:06:06.129 valet story is my absolute favorite. It feels 00:06:06.129 --> 00:06:08.269 like a scene from The Other Guys or something 00:06:08.269 --> 00:06:10.970 he would write. It is classic slapstick in real 00:06:10.970 --> 00:06:14.470 life. So he takes a job as a hotel valet on his 00:06:14.470 --> 00:06:17.980 second day two. He tries to drive a van under 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:21.519 a low beam. Oh, no. He completely misjudges the 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:23.920 clearance. He tears the baggage rack completely 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:26.060 violently off the top of the vehicle. Do you 00:06:26.060 --> 00:06:28.300 imagine pulling up to a nice hotel and the valet 00:06:28.300 --> 00:06:30.839 has just convertilized your family van? That 00:06:30.839 --> 00:06:33.420 is immediate termination. Immediate. And it didn't 00:06:33.420 --> 00:06:35.220 get any better from there. He didn't give up 00:06:35.220 --> 00:06:37.399 on the dream of the steady job, though. He got 00:06:37.399 --> 00:06:39.920 a job as a teller at Wells Fargo. Okay, that's 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:43.360 the ultimate steady job. Handling money. It requires 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:46.660 precision. Total precision. Day one, his drawer 00:06:46.660 --> 00:06:51.439 comes up short $300. Oh, boy. Day two, he's short 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:57.230 $280. Was he stealing it? Or... Just bad at math. 00:06:57.589 --> 00:07:00.189 No. And that's the funny part. If he were stealing 00:07:00.189 --> 00:07:02.810 it, that would at least imply a level of cunning 00:07:02.810 --> 00:07:06.050 or a plan. He wasn't stealing. He was just careless. 00:07:06.290 --> 00:07:08.990 He was error prone. He was daydreaming. He just 00:07:08.990 --> 00:07:11.509 wasn't built for the mundane details of a nine 00:07:11.509 --> 00:07:13.870 to five life. It's like his brain was just rejecting 00:07:13.870 --> 00:07:16.629 the premise of the job. It was. And thank goodness 00:07:16.629 --> 00:07:19.310 for his mother, Betty Kay. She saw this struggling, 00:07:19.389 --> 00:07:22.269 steady job failure who was just miserable and 00:07:22.269 --> 00:07:24.430 frankly bad at everything he tried. And she gave 00:07:24.430 --> 00:07:26.560 him the permission he needed. She basically told 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:28.660 him to forget the steady paycheck and go pursue 00:07:28.660 --> 00:07:30.620 what he actually liked. Which leads him to Los 00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:33.139 Angeles in 1991 and the legendary Groundlings. 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:34.899 Now, for people who don't know, can you explain 00:07:34.899 --> 00:07:36.699 the significance of the Groundlings? It's not 00:07:36.699 --> 00:07:39.060 just a weekend improv class, right? Right. No, 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:42.180 no. The Groundlings is an institution. It is 00:07:42.180 --> 00:07:45.339 a training ground. It is this iconic... sketch 00:07:45.339 --> 00:07:47.860 comedy troupe and school in L .A. that has produced 00:07:47.860 --> 00:07:51.879 an insane number of SNL cast members. People 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:55.240 like Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Phil Hartman. 00:07:55.439 --> 00:07:58.120 A real pipeline. A total pipeline. And it's distinct 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:01.319 from, say, Second City in Chicago, which often 00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:04.360 leans a bit more political or satirical. The 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:06.259 Groundlings is all about character work. It's 00:08:06.259 --> 00:08:09.480 about finding a funny wig. It's about... developing 00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:13.100 weird voices and for ferrell it was a total revelation 00:08:13.100 --> 00:08:15.819 he tried stand -up before this right he had and 00:08:15.819 --> 00:08:17.759 it didn't really work for him he wasn't comfortable 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:19.860 being himself on stage telling jokes as will 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:22.899 ferrell but character improv disappearing into 00:08:22.899 --> 00:08:24.800 someone else that was his sweet spot and this 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:26.860 is where we really start to see the will ferrell 00:08:26.860 --> 00:08:29.509 we know today take shape. He starts doing impressions, 00:08:29.649 --> 00:08:31.550 but not just, you know, hey, you sound like the 00:08:31.550 --> 00:08:33.990 guy. It's deeper. He discovered he absolutely 00:08:33.990 --> 00:08:36.870 loved impersonation. One of his first big ones 00:08:36.870 --> 00:08:39.450 was Harry Carey, the famous Chicago Cubs announcer. 00:08:39.929 --> 00:08:42.350 But he was also developing these amazing original 00:08:42.350 --> 00:08:44.750 characters. And this is actually where the Batabi 00:08:44.750 --> 00:08:47.850 brothers started. No way. The head bobbing guys 00:08:47.850 --> 00:08:50.990 from Night at the Roxbury. What is love? Exactly. 00:08:50.990 --> 00:08:53.190 He developed that with Chris Kattan at the Groundlings. 00:08:53.330 --> 00:08:55.889 They were just exploring the simple idea of two 00:08:55.889 --> 00:08:57.950 guys who go to dance clubs every night and get 00:08:57.950 --> 00:09:00.250 rejected constantly. It's a perfect example of 00:09:00.250 --> 00:09:02.549 his whole philosophy, isn't it? Taking a simple, 00:09:02.649 --> 00:09:05.370 almost sad premise. These are lonely guys who 00:09:05.370 --> 00:09:07.370 think they are cool, but absolutely are not. 00:09:07.429 --> 00:09:09.870 And committing to it so hard, it becomes hilarious. 00:09:10.230 --> 00:09:12.990 The commitment is everything. And then the big 00:09:12.990 --> 00:09:16.639 break happens. 1995, Saturday Night Live comes 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:18.980 calling. And the context here is really important. 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:21.960 We think of SNL now as this unkillable beast. 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:26.259 But in 1994 and 1995, the show was in real trouble. 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:28.740 It was on the ropes. Ratings were way down. The 00:09:28.740 --> 00:09:30.419 critics were basically writing its obituary. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:32.740 They'd lost that whole Sandler, Spade, Farley 00:09:32.740 --> 00:09:35.820 cast. They needed new blood urgently. Producers 00:09:35.820 --> 00:09:38.279 saw The Groundling Show, saw Farrell, saw Chris 00:09:38.279 --> 00:09:40.899 Kattan, saw Cherry O'Terry, and basically... 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:44.200 brought that whole class to Lorne Michaels. Farrell 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:46.659 joined in 95 and stayed for seven incredible 00:09:46.659 --> 00:09:49.919 years. And it wasn't just a good run. He became 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:52.320 the absolute anchor of that show, of that whole 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:56.100 era. He really did. By 2001, he was the highest 00:09:56.100 --> 00:09:59.620 paid cast member, making $350 ,000 a season. 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:03.379 But more importantly, he was the glue. If you 00:10:03.379 --> 00:10:05.799 look at that era of the show, he could do anything. 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:08.460 He could be the straight man in a sketch. He 00:10:08.460 --> 00:10:11.019 could be the absolute lunatic. He could be the 00:10:11.019 --> 00:10:14.440 impressionist. He saved the show by being the 00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:16.519 guy who could make any sketch work, no matter 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:18.860 how weird the premise. And the list of impressions 00:10:18.860 --> 00:10:22.480 is just staggering. Alex Trebek, Neil Diamond, 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:25.740 the unabomber, Jack Reno. And of course, George 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:27.820 W. Bush. We have to stop on the Bush impression 00:10:27.820 --> 00:10:30.360 because usually when a comedian plays a president 00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:32.580 on SNL, they want to meet them. They want to 00:10:32.580 --> 00:10:34.480 get inside their head. They want the photo op 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:37.169 for the wall at 30 Rock. But Farrell did something 00:10:37.169 --> 00:10:39.450 very different. This is a fascinating insight 00:10:39.450 --> 00:10:41.950 into his process and his discipline. Even back 00:10:41.950 --> 00:10:44.929 then, he refused to meet George W. Bush while 00:10:44.929 --> 00:10:46.850 he was on the show. He was invited. He was invited 00:10:46.850 --> 00:10:49.049 to the White House, but he declined. And he said 00:10:49.049 --> 00:10:52.169 he did it for, quote, comedic purposes. He didn't 00:10:52.169 --> 00:10:53.889 want to be influenced by the real person. He 00:10:53.889 --> 00:10:56.169 wanted to maintain a professional and I think 00:10:56.169 --> 00:10:59.090 a political distance. So the idea was if he met 00:10:59.090 --> 00:11:01.389 him and liked him, it would soften the comedy. 00:11:01.769 --> 00:11:04.470 That was his fear. He felt that if he met him 00:11:04.470 --> 00:11:07.210 and found out Bush was very charming one on one, 00:11:07.330 --> 00:11:10.389 which by all accounts he could be, it might soften 00:11:10.389 --> 00:11:12.409 the edge of the satire. He wouldn't be able to 00:11:12.409 --> 00:11:14.889 be as ruthless or as funny. That is an incredible 00:11:14.889 --> 00:11:18.190 level of discipline to say no thank you to the 00:11:18.190 --> 00:11:19.850 president of the United States because it might 00:11:19.850 --> 00:11:22.909 mess up your bit. It creates this very clear 00:11:22.909 --> 00:11:26.429 separation between the man and the art. It's 00:11:26.429 --> 00:11:28.690 the separation of art and state, in a way. He 00:11:28.690 --> 00:11:30.950 prioritized the integrity of the character over 00:11:30.950 --> 00:11:33.789 the social clout of meeting a president. Speaking 00:11:33.789 --> 00:11:35.690 of commitment to the bit, we have to talk about 00:11:35.690 --> 00:11:38.289 the patriotic shorts incident. Oh, this is legendary. 00:11:38.549 --> 00:11:40.950 This is the story that comes up in every oral 00:11:40.950 --> 00:11:43.490 history of SNL from that time. It just creates 00:11:43.490 --> 00:11:46.129 such a vivid picture of his fearlessness. Set 00:11:46.129 --> 00:11:48.289 the scene for us. Okay, so he was playing a character 00:11:48.289 --> 00:11:50.970 named Dale McGrew. The sketch involved him being 00:11:50.970 --> 00:11:54.509 this highly patriotic... office worker. The costume 00:11:54.509 --> 00:11:56.730 was a half t -shirt and these very, very short 00:11:56.730 --> 00:12:00.389 shorts right before the sketch aired live. On 00:12:00.389 --> 00:12:03.169 live national television, no second takes, no 00:12:03.169 --> 00:12:06.970 edit button. On live TV, he improvised. He went 00:12:06.970 --> 00:12:09.450 into the wardrobe department. He pulled the shorts 00:12:09.450 --> 00:12:11.129 up as high as they could go to turn them into 00:12:11.129 --> 00:12:14.450 a thong. Oh my God. He walked out there completely 00:12:14.450 --> 00:12:17.509 exposed, essentially. And if you watch the tape 00:12:17.509 --> 00:12:20.450 of that sketch, the laughter you hear. from the 00:12:20.450 --> 00:12:22.169 rest of the cast, from the host, Sean William 00:12:22.169 --> 00:12:25.870 Scott, is genuine unscripted shark. They had 00:12:25.870 --> 00:12:28.149 no idea he was going to do that. That is the 00:12:28.149 --> 00:12:31.129 Irvine boredom manifesting in its purest form, 00:12:31.190 --> 00:12:32.730 isn't it? It's like, how can I make this weirder? 00:12:32.830 --> 00:12:34.789 How can I create a little drama in this safe 00:12:34.789 --> 00:12:38.009 space? Exactly. He is manufacturing a crisis 00:12:38.009 --> 00:12:40.269 in real time just to see if he can survive it. 00:12:40.330 --> 00:12:42.350 And that fearlessness, that total commitment, 00:12:42.409 --> 00:12:44.710 is what allowed him to make the jump that so 00:12:44.710 --> 00:12:47.590 many SNL stars fail at. The jump to film. It 00:12:47.590 --> 00:12:49.570 really is the graveyard of so many promising 00:12:49.570 --> 00:12:52.350 careers. For every Eddie Murphy or Adam Sandler, 00:12:52.429 --> 00:12:55.269 there are 10 guys who do one movie and go back 00:12:55.269 --> 00:12:58.330 to sitcoms or just disappear. But Pharrell didn't 00:12:58.330 --> 00:13:01.139 just transition. He absolutely dominated. It 00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:03.639 started with those SNL spinoff movies like Ladies, 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:06.159 Man and Superstar, where he was a memorable supporting 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:09.580 player. But the breakout, the moment he became 00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:12.919 a legitimate movie star, was old school in 2003. 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:15.539 Frank the Tank, we're going streaking. Frank 00:13:15.539 --> 00:13:17.980 the Tank. And the critical reception here is 00:13:17.980 --> 00:13:20.460 really interesting to look back on. The New York 00:13:20.460 --> 00:13:23.519 Times, not exactly a publication known for reviewing 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:26.080 frat comedies with great warmth, declared that 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:28.759 the film belongs to Mr. Farrell. They said he 00:13:28.759 --> 00:13:31.600 used his hilarious... anxious zealotry to sell 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:34.440 the part. Anxious zealotry is such a perfect 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:36.559 two -word description of his entire acting style. 00:13:36.980 --> 00:13:39.659 It's that look in his eyes where he is 100 % 00:13:39.659 --> 00:13:42.360 committed to a truly terrible idea. It is. And 00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:44.159 that performance just kicked off what we can 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:46.759 really call the golden era. From 2003 to about 00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:49.960 2008, he was just untouchable. You have Elf, 00:13:49.980 --> 00:13:53.120 Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, one 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:55.340 after another. The money must have been insane. 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:59.039 It was. In 2005 alone, the sources say he earned 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:02.860 $40 million. Talladega Nights had the highest 00:14:02.860 --> 00:14:05.340 -roasting opening for a live -action comedy he'd 00:14:05.340 --> 00:14:07.840 done up to that point. He was a bankable box 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:10.379 office guarantee. He could open a movie on his 00:14:10.379 --> 00:14:12.720 name alone. I want to focus on Step Brothers 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:15.740 for a second from 2008, because when that movie 00:14:15.740 --> 00:14:17.559 came out, I remember people being a little confused 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:19.580 by it. It was so aggressive. It was so weird. 00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:21.899 It got mixed reviews initially. A lot of critics 00:14:21.899 --> 00:14:24.059 didn't know what to do with it. It felt loud 00:14:24.059 --> 00:14:27.539 and abrasive and not as sweet as Elf. But over 00:14:27.539 --> 00:14:31.240 time, it has become a massive cult classic, arguably 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:34.279 his most quoted film. After Anchorman. So much 00:14:34.279 --> 00:14:36.860 room for activities. Right. And the reason it 00:14:36.860 --> 00:14:39.299 works, again, is the chemistry. He partnered 00:14:39.299 --> 00:14:41.659 with John C. Reilly. Empire Magazine had this 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:43.820 great review at the time where they praised the 00:14:43.820 --> 00:14:46.039 dynamic. They said it was Reilly's cockiness 00:14:46.039 --> 00:14:49.679 versus Pharrell's puppy dog innocence. That's 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:52.120 it. In Step Brothers, Pharrell isn't the alpha. 00:14:52.259 --> 00:14:54.139 He's the follower. He's the more sensitive one. 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:56.720 And that vulnerability makes it so much funnier 00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.120 when he's, you know, smashing things with a baseball 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:01.379 bat. And it proved he could share the screen. 00:15:01.620 --> 00:15:04.279 He wasn't some ego -driven performer who needed 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:07.059 to have all the best jokes. He thrived on the 00:15:07.059 --> 00:15:09.320 volley, the back and forth. He was willing to 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:11.820 be the beta male if it made the scene funnier. 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:14.820 But just when we thought we had him completely 00:15:14.820 --> 00:15:18.379 figured out as the man -tiled guy, the king of 00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:21.860 the frat pack, he drops Stranger Than Fiction 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:25.460 on us in 2006. A crucial pivot. a really important 00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:27.799 moment in his career. This was a dramatic role. 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:30.940 He plays Harold Crick, a boring IRS auditor, 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:34.100 ironically the exact steady job guy he tried 00:15:34.100 --> 00:15:36.659 so hard to be in real life, who one day starts 00:15:36.659 --> 00:15:39.039 hearing a narrator in his head detailing his 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:41.059 life and his impending death. He's great at it. 00:15:41.259 --> 00:15:43.600 He's fantastic. It's a very gentle, very sad, 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:46.200 very nuanced performance. And it earned him a 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:48.720 Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. It proved 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:50.460 to the industry and to the audience that he wasn't 00:15:50.460 --> 00:15:53.059 just a one -trick pony. He was an actor who could 00:15:53.059 --> 00:15:55.539 handle nuance and drama. So we've established 00:15:55.539 --> 00:15:57.759 the star, we've established the actor, but now 00:15:57.759 --> 00:15:59.620 we need to talk about Will Ferrell, the mogul. 00:15:59.700 --> 00:16:02.039 Because I don't think people realize how much 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:04.080 of the comedy landscape he actually controls, 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:06.539 or at least controlled, behind the scenes. This 00:16:06.539 --> 00:16:08.740 is where we get into his incredibly fruitful 00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:11.970 partnership with Adam McKay. They weren't just 00:16:11.970 --> 00:16:14.070 writing partners on movies like Anchorman and 00:16:14.070 --> 00:16:16.389 Talladega Nights. They were business visionaries. 00:16:16.549 --> 00:16:19.710 In 2007, they launched a website called Funny 00:16:19.710 --> 00:16:22.330 or Die. Which completely changed the internet. 00:16:22.509 --> 00:16:24.850 I mean, before YouTube was fully what it is now. 00:16:25.720 --> 00:16:28.179 Funny or Die was the place for high -quality 00:16:28.179 --> 00:16:31.120 comedy sketches. It felt like HBO for the web. 00:16:31.320 --> 00:16:34.019 It did. And they launched it with an absolute 00:16:34.019 --> 00:16:37.539 bang with a video called The Landlord. I can 00:16:37.539 --> 00:16:39.659 still picture it perfectly. Will Ferrell getting 00:16:39.659 --> 00:16:42.200 yelled at and threatened by his landlord, who 00:16:42.200 --> 00:16:44.480 is a foul -mouthed two -year -old girl. Adam 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:47.259 McKay's daughter, Pearl. It went absolutely viral. 00:16:47.419 --> 00:16:49.500 It was one of the first truly viral Internet 00:16:49.500 --> 00:16:52.159 videos in that sense. But it also courted a little 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:55.100 bit of controversy. A few child psychologists 00:16:55.100 --> 00:16:57.419 actually came out and criticized them for child 00:16:57.419 --> 00:17:00.100 exploitation. They were worried that having this 00:17:00.100 --> 00:17:01.840 little girl swear and talk about getting her 00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:04.319 money was somehow traumatizing for her. And what 00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:06.920 was their defense? McKay was very practical about 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:09.500 it. He said, look, she's two. She's just repeating 00:17:09.500 --> 00:17:11.279 lines. I'm feeding her. She doesn't understand 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:13.539 what the words mean. He said she hadn't said 00:17:13.539 --> 00:17:16.079 the B word once since they shot it. But, you 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:18.180 know, that little bit of controversy just fueled 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:20.359 the site's growth. It put them on the map as 00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:23.099 the bad boys of digital media. They also founded 00:17:23.099 --> 00:17:25.380 Gary Sanchez Productions around that time. This 00:17:25.380 --> 00:17:27.660 was their production shingle. And they produced 00:17:27.660 --> 00:17:30.400 massive hits, not just their own movies, but 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:32.299 stuff like The Other Guys and He's Pounding Down. 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:37.519 But then, 2019, the split. This is the aha moment 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:39.119 for the business side of things, but it's kind 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:41.559 of a sad one. For years, Farrell and McKay were 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:43.940 like the Lennon and McCartney of modern comedy. 00:17:45.100 --> 00:17:48.240 And then, very abruptly, they announced they 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:50.079 were dissolving their partnership. And it became 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:51.940 clear it wasn't just a business decision. It 00:17:51.940 --> 00:17:54.059 was deeply personal. And it all revolved around 00:17:54.059 --> 00:17:56.519 a casting decision for that HBO show Winning 00:17:56.519 --> 00:17:59.460 Time, right? The show about the Showtime Lakers. 00:17:59.660 --> 00:18:02.339 Correct. And this is a story that really humanizes 00:18:02.339 --> 00:18:05.579 these massive industry struggles. Farrell is 00:18:05.579 --> 00:18:09.869 a huge Lakers fan. A super fan. He wanted to 00:18:09.869 --> 00:18:12.450 play Jerry Buss, the flamboyant owner of the 00:18:12.450 --> 00:18:14.609 Lakers. It was apparently his dream role. He 00:18:14.609 --> 00:18:16.349 felt he was born to play it. I mean, you can 00:18:16.349 --> 00:18:18.690 see it. He practically is Jerry Buss in spirit. 00:18:18.869 --> 00:18:21.569 The showman, the hair. Absolutely. And Adam McKay 00:18:21.569 --> 00:18:23.930 was the producer on the show. And McKay didn't 00:18:23.930 --> 00:18:26.289 cast Farrell. He ended up casting John C. Reilly 00:18:26.289 --> 00:18:29.529 Farrell's best friend and most frequent collaborator. 00:18:29.630 --> 00:18:32.869 Wow. And the real kicker. McKay didn't call Farrell 00:18:32.869 --> 00:18:35.190 to tell him first. Farrell found out about it 00:18:35.190 --> 00:18:38.190 later, secondhand. that his best friend had been 00:18:38.190 --> 00:18:40.690 cast in his dream role by his other best friend 00:18:40.690 --> 00:18:44.839 and business partner ouch That is that's a professional 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:47.140 and a personal betrayal. It broke the partnership. 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:48.740 They closed the company. They haven't worked 00:18:48.740 --> 00:18:51.140 together since. It serves as this really stark 00:18:51.140 --> 00:18:53.660 reminder that even at this insane level of success, 00:18:53.859 --> 00:18:57.000 personal ambitions and simple communication breakdowns 00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.059 can just destroy decades long relationships. 00:18:59.299 --> 00:19:01.359 It really highlights that for Farrell, this isn't 00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:03.539 just about having fun. He takes his career and 00:19:03.539 --> 00:19:06.160 his roles incredibly seriously. But from the 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:09.460 ashes of that, Farrell has emerged as this incredibly 00:19:09.460 --> 00:19:12.430 prestigious TV producer in his own right. Right. 00:19:12.430 --> 00:19:14.990 I mean, I was genuinely shocked when I was watching 00:19:14.990 --> 00:19:17.029 the credits of Succession and saw his name pop 00:19:17.029 --> 00:19:19.529 up as an executive producer. It is the ultimate 00:19:19.529 --> 00:19:21.970 irony, isn't it? The man who created Ron Burgundy, 00:19:22.109 --> 00:19:24.529 the king of buffoonery, is an executive producer 00:19:24.529 --> 00:19:27.630 on Succession. Maybe the most acclaimed, serious 00:19:27.630 --> 00:19:31.109 Shakespearean drama of the last decade. He won 00:19:31.109 --> 00:19:33.529 primetime Emmy Awards for it. And did a music 00:19:33.529 --> 00:19:36.410 act, right? Yes. The fantastic Christina Applegate 00:19:36.410 --> 00:19:38.210 series on Netflix. He's an executive producer 00:19:38.210 --> 00:19:41.490 on that, too. It just shows that his taste, his... 00:19:41.549 --> 00:19:43.509 His understanding of story isn't limited to broad 00:19:43.509 --> 00:19:45.710 comedy. He understands character. He understands 00:19:45.710 --> 00:19:48.170 tension. He gets what makes good television, 00:19:48.289 --> 00:19:50.549 period. He's not just a clown. He's a genuine 00:19:50.549 --> 00:19:53.309 tastemaker. Speaking of taste, we have to talk 00:19:53.309 --> 00:19:56.150 about his other great obsession, sports. Because 00:19:56.150 --> 00:19:58.670 Will Ferrell doesn't just watch sports. He participates 00:19:58.670 --> 00:20:01.009 in them in the most Will Serrell way imaginable. 00:20:01.049 --> 00:20:03.390 He is the ultimate active fan. He completely 00:20:03.390 --> 00:20:06.049 blurs the line between spectator and participant. 00:20:06.650 --> 00:20:09.630 Let's look at the baseball stunt. March 12, 2015. 00:20:10.250 --> 00:20:13.589 A day that will live in baseball infamy. He decided 00:20:13.589 --> 00:20:17.490 for a Funny or Die special to play for 10 different 00:20:17.490 --> 00:20:19.809 Major League Baseball teams in a single day. 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:22.339 during spring training in Arizona. How is that 00:20:22.339 --> 00:20:24.700 even logistically possible? A lot of frantic 00:20:24.700 --> 00:20:27.380 driving and a lot of helicopters. He played for 00:20:27.380 --> 00:20:30.700 the Diamondbacks, Angels, Dodgers, Padres, Reds, 00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:34.019 A's, Mariners, Cubs, White Sox and Giants. And 00:20:34.019 --> 00:20:36.519 he played all 10 positions, including designated 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:39.539 hitter. So how did he actually do? Did he totally 00:20:39.539 --> 00:20:41.460 embarrass himself out there with professional 00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:44.859 athletes? Well, he did foul off a 92 mile per 00:20:44.859 --> 00:20:47.420 hour fastball, which is not nothing. That's legitimately 00:20:47.420 --> 00:20:49.299 hard to do. That's impressive. And according 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:51.559 to. the official stats from that day, he pitched 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:54.319 to one batter and got him out. So he has a career 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:58.599 major league ERA of 1 .00 Hall of Fame numbers 00:20:58.599 --> 00:21:01.440 right there. Exactly. But the purpose wasn't 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:03.759 just some vanity project. It was for charity, 00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:06.640 a group called Cancer for College and other cancer 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:09.559 charities. But again, it shows his absolute commitment. 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:11.980 He took it seriously while he was doing it. He 00:21:11.980 --> 00:21:14.099 wasn't mocking the game. He was inhabiting it 00:21:14.099 --> 00:21:16.619 for a day. My favorite sports story of his, though, 00:21:16.700 --> 00:21:19.809 has to be. Billy Ray Rojo Johnson. This is deep 00:21:19.809 --> 00:21:23.539 lore. This is for the real fans. So 2010. A minor 00:21:23.539 --> 00:21:26.859 league baseball game in Round Rock, Texas. Suddenly, 00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:29.779 Will Ferrell appears on the mound to pitch. He's 00:21:29.779 --> 00:21:32.799 introduced as a fiery Venezuelan pitcher named 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:35.079 Billy Ray Rojo Johnson. And he's wearing a fake 00:21:35.079 --> 00:21:36.700 mustache, right? I remember seeing the clips. 00:21:36.819 --> 00:21:40.079 A big, bushy, fake mustache. And he brings a 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:42.940 paper bag full of beer cans out to the mound 00:21:42.940 --> 00:21:45.799 with him. He throws one pitch. Then he stages 00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:48.339 a fight with the opposing batter. He chases him 00:21:48.339 --> 00:21:50.720 around the field. And during the chase, of course, 00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:53.109 the mustache falls off. It's pure performance 00:21:53.109 --> 00:21:56.150 art on a baseball diamond. It is. The fans went 00:21:56.150 --> 00:21:58.430 absolutely wild. The clip went viral. But it 00:21:58.430 --> 00:22:00.490 shows how he creates these characters even in 00:22:00.490 --> 00:22:02.829 real life. He's not just Will Ferrell, the celebrity 00:22:02.829 --> 00:22:05.609 at a game. He's a participant in the spectacle. 00:22:05.970 --> 00:22:08.690 He just breaks the fourth wall of reality itself. 00:22:08.910 --> 00:22:10.650 But he also put his money where his mouth is 00:22:10.650 --> 00:22:13.609 with soccer, which is a bit more serious. Yes, 00:22:13.710 --> 00:22:16.970 he is a part owner of Los Angeles FC, the major 00:22:16.970 --> 00:22:19.990 league soccer team. And he was very clear about 00:22:19.990 --> 00:22:22.769 this in interviews when it launched. It wasn't 00:22:22.769 --> 00:22:25.250 a vanity project. He didn't just want the good 00:22:25.250 --> 00:22:28.190 seats. He actually watches global soccer. He 00:22:28.190 --> 00:22:31.369 wanted MLS to be taken seriously, to be on par 00:22:31.369 --> 00:22:33.450 with the European leagues. And it worked out 00:22:33.450 --> 00:22:36.009 pretty well for him. It did. LAFC won the MLS 00:22:36.009 --> 00:22:39.549 Cup in 2022. So he has a championship ring as 00:22:39.549 --> 00:22:42.009 a team owner. He's also a diehard LA Kings fan 00:22:42.009 --> 00:22:44.470 for hockey. To the point of painting his face. 00:22:44.650 --> 00:22:47.470 In the 2023 playoffs, he showed up in the front 00:22:47.470 --> 00:22:50.289 row right on the glass with checkered black and 00:22:50.289 --> 00:22:53.190 silver face paint screaming his head off. And 00:22:53.190 --> 00:22:55.970 he once went into the broadcast booth and commentated 00:22:55.970 --> 00:22:58.029 an entire period of a Kings game in character 00:22:58.029 --> 00:23:00.549 as Ron Burgundy. That is the absolute dream. 00:23:00.690 --> 00:23:03.119 Hearing Ron Burgundy call a hockey game. Great 00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:05.599 Odin's Raven. It's just constantly blurring the 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:07.799 lines. Is he a fan? Is he a character? Is he 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:09.839 an owner? He manages to be all of them at once. 00:23:10.039 --> 00:23:12.539 Now, I want to pivot to something a little bit 00:23:12.539 --> 00:23:14.440 controversial, or at least it was a headline 00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:17.920 back in 2007. Autograph Magazine named him the 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:20.119 worst autograph signer in Hollywood. This is 00:23:20.119 --> 00:23:21.960 a funny little blip in his public reputation. 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:25.140 The magazine claimed he taunted fans who asked 00:23:25.140 --> 00:23:27.839 for a signature. They said he was difficult and 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:30.269 would mock them. And Pharrell actually responded 00:23:30.269 --> 00:23:32.710 to this accusation. He did. He went on a talk 00:23:32.710 --> 00:23:35.130 show and he admitted it. But the context is key. 00:23:35.289 --> 00:23:38.029 He said, I do taunt them. I'll ask them, how 00:23:38.029 --> 00:23:40.410 badly do you want this autograph? Are you sure? 00:23:40.730 --> 00:23:43.170 Prove you're my biggest fan. Sing a song from 00:23:43.170 --> 00:23:45.710 Elf. See, to me, that doesn't sound like a jerk. 00:23:45.970 --> 00:23:48.410 That sounds like he's engaging with them. He's 00:23:48.410 --> 00:23:51.210 making them earn it. Sure. But he's also giving 00:23:51.210 --> 00:23:54.839 them a unique story. Exactly. The analysis here 00:23:54.839 --> 00:23:57.000 is that it's not arrogance. It's a performance 00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:59.900 piece. He's testing the boundaries of the whole 00:23:59.900 --> 00:24:02.839 celebrity fan interaction. If you get an autograph 00:24:02.839 --> 00:24:04.640 from Will Ferrell, you don't just get a signature. 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:07.059 You get a moment of improv with Will Ferrell. 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:09.380 That's worth way more than some scribble on a 00:24:09.380 --> 00:24:11.819 piece of paper. He's turning a boring transaction 00:24:11.819 --> 00:24:15.140 into a memorable interaction. We touched on politics 00:24:15.140 --> 00:24:17.720 earlier with the George W. Bush impression. But 00:24:17.720 --> 00:24:19.900 where does he actually stand politically? based 00:24:19.900 --> 00:24:22.920 on the records. He is a pretty staunch and active 00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:26.200 Democrat. He supported Barack Obama. He campaigned 00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:29.140 for Stacey Abrams in Georgia and for Kamala Harris. 00:24:29.460 --> 00:24:31.900 But again, he keeps the art separate from his 00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:34.839 personal activism. He returned to SNL to play 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:37.119 Bush for a special long after he'd left the show, 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:39.500 even while fundamentally disagreeing with his 00:24:39.500 --> 00:24:42.339 politics. He manages to be politically active 00:24:42.339 --> 00:24:44.140 without becoming a political comedian in the 00:24:44.140 --> 00:24:47.130 way, say, a Bill Maher is. He doesn't lecture, 00:24:47.170 --> 00:24:49.490 he performs. And physically. I mean, the guy 00:24:49.490 --> 00:24:52.289 is famous for showing off his average Joe physique 00:24:52.289 --> 00:24:55.150 in movies, often shirtless. He has that dad bod 00:24:55.150 --> 00:24:57.430 persona. But in real life, he's actually quite 00:24:57.430 --> 00:24:59.549 an athlete. He is a dedicated marathon runner. 00:24:59.710 --> 00:25:01.789 He has run the Boston Marathon, the New York 00:25:01.789 --> 00:25:04.049 City Marathon, and the Stockholm Marathon. That 00:25:04.049 --> 00:25:07.710 is serious, serious endurance. Running 26 .2 00:25:07.710 --> 00:25:10.450 miles is no joke. That takes an incredible amount 00:25:10.450 --> 00:25:14.029 of discipline. It creates this Fascinating juxtaposition, 00:25:14.029 --> 00:25:16.589 doesn't it? On screen, he so often plays these 00:25:16.589 --> 00:25:20.069 doughy, unathletic, clumsy men. But in reality, 00:25:20.190 --> 00:25:22.750 he has the discipline and the focus to train 00:25:22.750 --> 00:25:25.910 for and complete multiple marathons. It goes 00:25:25.910 --> 00:25:28.730 right back to that Irvine boredom idea. He has 00:25:28.730 --> 00:25:31.650 this massive hidden capacity for discipline and 00:25:31.650 --> 00:25:33.789 routine. You don't run a marathon by accident. 00:25:34.049 --> 00:25:36.609 And his personal life seems to reflect that routine 00:25:36.609 --> 00:25:39.650 instability, too. Very stable. He's been married 00:25:39.650 --> 00:25:42.569 to Viveka Pollen since the year 2000. They met 00:25:42.569 --> 00:25:45.529 in an acting class way back in 1995, before he 00:25:45.529 --> 00:25:48.430 was even on SNL. They have three sons. They split 00:25:48.430 --> 00:25:50.369 their time between New York City and Orange County. 00:25:50.609 --> 00:25:52.690 He essentially went back to his roots. He went 00:25:52.690 --> 00:25:54.849 back to the safe, master -planned life that he 00:25:54.849 --> 00:25:57.390 came from. He did. In a way, he created the steady, 00:25:57.470 --> 00:25:59.849 stable life he always wanted as a kid. It just 00:25:59.849 --> 00:26:01.789 happens that his steady job involves wearing 00:26:01.789 --> 00:26:04.029 elf costumes and screaming about towel bells. 00:26:04.329 --> 00:26:06.069 So let's try to bring this all together. We started 00:26:06.069 --> 00:26:17.599 with this idea of a parrot. I think the synthesis 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:21.559 is one single word. Commitment. That is the word 00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:24.339 that defines Will Ferrell across the board. Whether 00:26:24.339 --> 00:26:26.759 he is playing 10 baseball positions in a single 00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:29.180 day or wearing a thong on national television 00:26:29.180 --> 00:26:31.619 or refusing to meet the president to protect 00:26:31.619 --> 00:26:34.660 a character or training to run a marathon, he 00:26:34.660 --> 00:26:37.359 doesn't half -ass anything. He takes the absurdity 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:40.660 completely seriously. Precisely. His comedy isn't 00:26:40.660 --> 00:26:43.329 about being stupid. It's about being incredibly 00:26:43.329 --> 00:26:46.670 smart about stupidity. He commits to the bit 00:26:46.670 --> 00:26:49.589 with a level of intensity that is so total, it 00:26:49.589 --> 00:26:51.809 forces the audience to come along with him for 00:26:51.809 --> 00:26:54.349 the ride. He treats a character who thinks he's 00:26:54.349 --> 00:26:56.890 a frantic NASCAR driver with the same emotional 00:26:56.890 --> 00:26:59.849 weight as a serious dramatic role. He never winks 00:26:59.849 --> 00:27:01.710 at the camera. Never. He never winks at the camera 00:27:01.710 --> 00:27:04.089 to say, look how silly I'm being. He plays it 00:27:04.089 --> 00:27:06.609 completely straight from the character's warped 00:27:06.609 --> 00:27:08.950 point of view. And that's why it works. If he 00:27:08.950 --> 00:27:10.730 winked, the whole thing would just fall apart. 00:27:10.970 --> 00:27:13.900 Completely. And that brings us to the final provocative 00:27:13.900 --> 00:27:16.880 thought. I want you, the listener, to think about 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:20.019 that winning time conflict again. The split with 00:27:20.019 --> 00:27:22.180 Adam McKay. It really sticks with you, that story. 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:24.700 It does because it reminds us that underneath 00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:27.279 all the wigs and the catchphrases and the absurdity, 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:30.119 this is a very high stakes business. These are 00:27:30.119 --> 00:27:33.140 real people with deep ambitions and, you know, 00:27:33.160 --> 00:27:36.200 fragile egos. The fact that a decades long friendship 00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:38.599 and creative partnership could dissolve over 00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:41.339 the desire to play Jerry Buss. It just shows 00:27:41.339 --> 00:27:43.299 that for Will Ferrell, this isn't just fun and 00:27:43.299 --> 00:27:46.079 games. It's his life's work. He takes his craft 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:49.279 and his legacy very, very seriously. So the next 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:51.380 time you watch Step Brothers or you see a clip 00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:54.380 of him as Alex Trebek on SNL, don't just look 00:27:54.380 --> 00:27:57.039 for the laugh. Look for the discipline. Look 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:59.339 for the guy who is working harder than anyone 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:02.200 else in the room to make that complete and utter 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:04.819 absurdity feel 100 % real. And maybe just be 00:28:04.819 --> 00:28:06.700 thankful that he never got that permanent job 00:28:06.700 --> 00:28:08.779 at the bank. I think we're all a lot safer with 00:28:08.779 --> 00:28:10.519 him tearing up movie screens instead of band 00:28:10.519 --> 00:28:16.259 roofs. Thanks for listening to this deep dive. 00:28:16.500 --> 00:28:17.900 We'll see you next time. Take care.