Why Will Ferrell Took A Step Back From Hollywood

Ever since he rose to fame as a "Saturday Night Live" cast member in the mid-1990s, Will Ferrell has been a ubiquitous presence on our screens. He dominated comedy in the '00s thanks to laugh-out-loud smashes such as "Old School," "Anchorman," and "Blades of Glory," before also showing his more sensitive side in the likes of "Stranger than Fiction" and "Everything Must Go." And then in the following decade, he appeared in everything from Lifetime TV movies and Spanish-language Westerns to Sherlock Holmes capers and even coverage of royal weddings!

But the once-prolific funnyman appears to have slowed things down of late, with the most of his credits of the supporting, voiceover, or cameo variety. Luckily for Ferrell fans, the Californian is set to stage a comeback in 2025 thanks to high-profile roles in wedding comedy "You're Cordially Invited" and sports sitcom "Golf." Until then, here's why Ferrell appears to have recently flown under the radar.

What did the Dick Cheney biopic "Vice", Jennifer Lopez-starring stripper drama "Hustlers", and culinary horror comedy "The Menu" all have in common? Well, as unlikely as it seems, they all had input from the one and only Will Ferrell. 

Yes, since 2007's "Hot Rod," Ferrell has enjoyed a sideline as a bigshot Hollywood producer, helping to bring more than a dozen movies to the big screen. As an executive producer, he's helped nearly the same number of shows to the small screen including Netflix dramedy "Dead to Me," the supernatural tale "Motherland: Fort Salem," and HBO's family dynasty saga "Succession".

In 2019, Ferrell closed the company, Gary Sanchez Productions, which he co-founded with Adam McKay 12 years earlier. But he's continued to work behind the scenes with his newly-created Gloria Sanchez Productions, most notably on the Oscar-nominated black comedy "May December". "The sign of being a good producer is to be somewhat open with our involvement," the funnyman told Vanity Fair while discussing the latter in 2024, adding that he has to pinch himself that he's "supporting things that are getting looked at in a creative light."

Will Ferrell has never been shy of disclosing his political allegiances. He publicly endorsed Barack Obama for the 2012 presidential election and canvassed for the Democratic party in Georgia six years later. But it's the more recent race to the White House where the funnyman has been his most outspoken.

In 2024, Ferrell incurred the wrath of the anti-woke brigade when he jokingly threatened a fictional non-voter in a campaign ad for Kamala Harris. After noting how close the election was likely to be and the importance of each vote cast, the funnyman addressed an off-camera skeptic: "That means you, Gary. 'Oh, blah blah blah, I'm just one person.' No. Shut the f*** up, Gary. Last time, only a few thousand votes kept Trump out of office. And this time, we will hold you personally responsible, Gary."

Ferrell also returned to Billy Eichner's comedy vox pops show "Billy on the Street" for a special titled, "Loud White Men for Kamala." Here, the two funnymen paced the streets of the Big Apple to encourage New Yorkers to volunteer or vote for the reigning vice president. Of course, as we all know, the pair's efforts didn't produce the desired effect.

Just like most comedians who rose to fame in less enlightened times, Will Ferrell has had to reckon with material that isn't considered acceptable today. Take the "Saturday Night Live" sketch of the late '90s when the funnyman dragged up to play late Attorney General Janet Reno. And that was pretty much the punchline.

"That's something I wouldn't choose to do now," Ferrell told The New York Times podcast "The Interview" in 2024, referring to the very much anti-woke skit. The Californian also acknowledged that there were several other sketches which he now regrets before quipping, "I mean, in a way, the cast — you're kind of given this assignment. So I'm going to blame the writers."

Dressing up as a woman for laughs isn't the only part of Ferrell's career that's fallen out of fashion. Hollywood has largely given his forte, the mid-budget, big-screen comedy, a wide berth since the franchise movie took over the multiplexes. In fact, the star of box office hits such as "Anchorman," "Old School," and "Step Brothers" hasn't fronted such a film since "Holmes and Watson" back in 2018!

Will Ferrell's most enduring hit move is "Elf," the festive favorite in which he plays an oversized Santa's helper who teaches his biological father the magic of Christmas. The 2003 movie, which its star initially believed may wreck his career, grossed nearly $230 million at the box office and has left fans clamoring for a sequel ever since. But sadly, its leading man is being something of a Scrooge.

In 2013, Ferrell told "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" (via USA Today) that he had little interest in reprising his iconic role: "I just think it would look slightly pathetic if I tried to squeeze back in the elf tights. Buddy the middle-aged Elf." And even with the rumored dangling of a $29 million paycheck, the funnyman has refused to change his mind.

Then in 2022, another reason for all the Christmas party-pooping emerged. Indeed, in an interview with Cleveland's 92.3 The Fan's Bull and Fox, "Elf" co-star James Caan revealed that Ferrell had repeatedly clashed with director Jon Favreau on set. The actor, who sadly died the following year, explained that he and the rest of the cast had been up for a sequel, but that its star attraction refused to work with the filmmaker ever again.

Not content with displaying his singing abilities in "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga," Will Ferrell has also been showing off his musical side as an amateur DJ. The Hollywood star was first spotted spinning the decks at a 2023 fraternity tailgate party at the University of Southern California, with The Killers, Survivor, and Jay-Z & Kanye West making up part of his eclectic playlist.

Ferrell certainly looked the part, too, donning a backward baseball cap, a pair of shades, some black headphones, and a jacket emblazoned with the name of the college he graduated from in 1990 (and that his son Magnus was also attending). Swedish House Mafia must have been impressed with what they heard and saw as the superstar DJs accepted an offer to join the comedian at a Cancer for College benefit show in 2024.

Ferrell announced their booking in a YouTube clip in which he sported his usual DJ attire along with a Swedish House Mafia T-shirt. The "Talladega Nights" star revealed he'll be playing with "my band" before Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell, and Steve Angello enter the picture. "Be there — don't piss these guys off," he then warned about the gig dubbed 'Will Ferrell's Ultimate DJ House Party.'

In stark contrast to the likes of 'punching down' comics, Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais, Will Ferrell has become one of Hollywood's most outspoken trans allies. And as documented in the Netflix film "Will and Harper," a longtime friend's transition was the catalyst.

Indeed, after former "Saturday Night Live" head writer Harper Steele came out as a trans woman, Ferrell made it his duty to learn more about her journey and the trans community. A filmed 16-day road trip the pair took to Santa Monica from New York City helped further his education. "It made it a safe arena for me to stumble my way through," Ferrell told The Guardian about the critically acclaimed documentary.

"I think it's important for the audience to see that I'm searching, I'm stumbling, because I want to say things in the right way, and I haven't caught up to speed as to the right way to engage," Ferrell added. "And Harper takes the curse off of it by saying: 'Just spit it out. It's OK. You're my friend, and I allow you to kind of make mistakes.'" The funnyman also hoped the movie would have a much broader impact, insisting that it be released before the presidential election in the hope that it might change some viewers' minds on trans rights.

Investing in a British soccer team appears to be all the rage in the celebrity world, whether it's Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney taking over Wrexham, JJ Watt becoming minority shareholders in Burnley, or Tom Brady throwing money into Birmingham. And in 2024, Will Ferrell became the latest American to embrace the home of the beautiful game.

Indeed, in the summer of 2024, Ferrell took a minor stake in Leeds United, the club that already counted a movie star, Russell Crowe, as an investor. Of course, this wouldn't be Ferrell's first rodeo. In 2016, the funnyman, who played the game at his University High School in Irvine, joined Magic Johnson and Mia Hamm as a celebrity co-owner of the Major League Soccer franchise, Los Angeles FC.

When asked why the sport has attracted so much celebrity interest of late while attending Leeds' game — coincidentally against Burnley — Ferrell told LUTV (via Leeds Live), "I think we are finally catching up to what a wonderful game this is. Americans are very heavy into their sports, but there is still a level of devotion to English football that is unlike anywhere in the world. I think we find that exciting and admire it." Unfortunately, he wasn't a good luck charm, with the visitors winning 1-0. 

Will Ferrell shares three sons, Magnus, Mattias, and Axel, with his wife, Viveca Paulin. And as you'd expect from such a natural funnyman, he isn't the typical dad. In fact, he seems to relish embarrassing his offspring at any given moment, with his oldest often bearing the brunt.

In 2024, Magnus uploaded a father-and-son pic to TikTok that had been taken before his prom. While he was dressed in suitably formal attire, his pop decided to impersonate a medieval lord, sporting a gold-stitched maroon robe, black top hat, and white wide-brimmed collar. Indeed, as anyone who's watched the run of '00s comedies that turned him into a superstar, when Ferrell commits he really commits.

Although the youngster admitted that he was mortified by the snap, he still rated it 10000 out of 10 for the comedy factor. Perhaps Ferrell was only getting his own back after being forced to put with such unadulterated chaos over the previous 20 years. "There is usually a high volume in the house," the star told People in 2017. "Whether they're having a great time or whether they're losing their minds, they are always yelling."

If you've got kids, or are simply a big kid at heart, chances are you've enjoyed one of Will Ferrell's most recent performances on the big screen without knowing it. Indeed, in 2024, the funnyman voiced villain Maxime Le Mal in the fourth entry of the "Despicable Me" franchise, perhaps a surprising casting choice considering he'd previously fronted the similarly-themed animation "Megamind".

Ferrell had been asked to join the box office phenomenon by Steve Carell, who, of course, voices leading man Gru. "... Someone asked who would be your perfect next villain, and I threw Will out as a potential choice," the latter explained to Britain's This Morning". "I didn't even ask him about it ... he did it ... He jumped at the chance."

However, Carell was a little perplexed when he watched his friend's contribution to the film. "I did not recognize his voice," he added. "I knew it was him. But I thought, 'Is that him?' Because it did not sound like him." Three years earlier, Ferrell had shown off his voiceover talents in "Strays", playing naive a Border Terrier named Reggie.

Will Ferrell has reportedly lost out on several major roles throughout his career including, the titular role in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," hellraiser Dennis Dupree in "Rock of Ages,"vand hapless secret agent Max Smart in "Get Smart." But considering his keen interest in sports, the snubbing that hurt the most is likelyvoccurred in 2024.

Ferrell had been tipped by industry insiders to play John Madden in a biopic of the NFL legend who steered the Oakland Raiders to their first Super Bowl victory. The film, directed by David O. Russell, Madden" instead opted for something of a curveball. Yes, despite looking nothing like the famous coach, Nicolas Cage was given the coveted part. 

Perhaps the beef between Madden and Ferrell several years earlier played a part. The former accused the latter of disrespecting the game of baseball when he played in five different exhibition games for ten different teams while raising approximately $1M for charity. Of course, the Ferrell can take some consolation from the fact he's able to play out his sporting dreams elsewhere. Indeed, he's appeared in films about basketball ("Semi-Pro"), soccer ("Kicking and Screaming"), NASCAR racing ("Talladega Nights"), and even ice-skating ("Blades of Glory") over the years.

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay were Hollywood's comedic dream team in the '00s, their creative vision producing such classics as "Anchorman," "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," and "Step Brothers." But sadly, things turned distinctly sour between the pair toward the end of the following decade.

In 2019, the duo announced they'd be dissolving their company Gary Sanchez Productions, but insisted that they'd continue to stay in each other's lives on a personal and professional level. However, three years later, McKay revealed that they hadn't spoken to each other since releasing this statement. And a dispute over HBO's "Winning Time" was to blame. McKay admitted he'd been underhanded by casting John C. Reilly as Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss in the limited series, a role that Ferrell had set his heart on, without discussing the matter first. 

"I f***ed up on how I handled that," McKay told Vanity Fair, before claiming that his longtime cohort had blown the incident out of proportion. Ferrell, who also famously fell out with "A Night at the Roxbury" co-star Chris Kattan, has been less forthcoming about the fallout, but he did tell The Hollywood Reporter in 2021 that he felt McKay's prolific work rate was becoming a little too much: "To me, the potential of seeing a billboard, and being like: 'Oh, we're producing that?' I don't know ... At the end of the day, we just have different amounts of bandwidth."

Of course, Will Ferrell hasn't stopped appearing on screen entirely. He's just giving others the chance to shine instead. In "Barbie," for example, he enjoyed a supporting role as the unnamed CEO of Mattel. In "Quiz Lady," he briefly appeared as game show host Terry McTeer. In the fourth season of Amazon's subversive superhero series "The Boys," he made a cameo in the movie-within-a-TV show, "Training A-Team."

"We ended up texting, and he's the nicest guy, and so I just reached out to him and said, 'Would you be interested in flying out to Toronto for 36 hours and doing this role for us?'" the latter's showrunner Eric Kripke told The Hollywood Reporter about how he managed to convince Ferrell to play Coach Brink. "He thought it was funny and agreed to do it, which was amazing. There were horrible shooting conditions that day, just freezing sideways rain. I felt so bad, because he was outside all day and he just could not have been kinder or more gracious."

Ferrell has also popped up in several Netflix specials, too. He reprised his most famous character, Ron Burgundy, in "The Roast of Tom Brady," and then portrayed famous producer Lou Adler in a sketch for the talk show "John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA."

You aren't a celebrity these days without your very own podcast. But Will Ferrell has gone one better by founding his own podcast network. Yes, in 2019, the Californian launched Big Money Players Network in conjunction with iHeartRadio, the home of his "The Ron Burgundy Podcast," as its name suggests, sees him reprise his iconic character from "Anchorman" in audio form.

"The iHeartPodcast Network has been such a pleasure to work with," Ferrell revealed in a statement (via Vulture) announcing the news. "I love hanging out in the offices, and I've only been yelled at once for using someone's computer, which I shouldn't have done. I'm looking forward to continuing our journey as creative partners and helping to define how comedy and podcasting will merge in the next couple years."

Ferrell subsequently launched several new podcasts including, "The Feed," a comedy anthology co-hosted with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang in which a different emerging comedian plays an original character each monthly episode, and "The Big Sexy Interview Show with Michael Bolton," a chat show presented by the power balladeer. While appearing at the Podcast Movement Evolutions event in 2022, the Hollywood star said he hopes to pay it forward by giving a voice to new and undiscovered talent.