Trying to narrow down Will Ferrell's best movie and TV roles is like trying to choose a favorite flavor of ice cream. A lot of them are so good: from his beginnings on Saturday Night Live in 1995 to his role as Pete Staunton in 2020's Downhill. Alright, maybe Get Hard and Holmes & Watson weren't that good, but they had their moments. With the premiere of Netflix's Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga on June 26, we felt it was time to take a trip down memory lane and maybe have a laugh or two by looking back at some of his best roles. We even coupled them with some memorable quotes, which will probably be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. See them all ahead.
When Buddy the Elf discovers he's actually human, he leaves the North Pole in search of his real dad. While initially reluctant to accept his son, Walter Hobbs (James Caan) eventually brings him into his life upon learning the results of a DNA test. Buddy then tries to fit into the real world and falls in love with Jovie (Zooey Deschanel). However, when it seems Christmas may be ruined, it's Buddy's uniqueness that saves the day.
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Ricky Bobby is one of racing's top drivers and he's got it all. However, after he loses to French Formula One driver Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) everything he knows is put into question. With the help of his family (including his estranged father), he has to do everything he can to regain his title and his confidence.
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Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is currently available on Amazon Prime.
In 1970s San Diego, Ron Burgundy is the top anchorman. After welcoming Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) into the boys club of broadcast news, he's soon outshone and a bitter feud ensues, which results in him offending the city of San Diego and ruining his career. It isn't until a breaking news story at a zoo that he's given a second chance.
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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is currently available on Amazon Prime.
After Brennan Huff's mother and Dale Doback's (John C. Reilly) father get married, their worlds get turned upside down. At first, the pair seem to have nothing in common and are constantly at each other's throats. Things then take a turn when they find a common ground, but their ridiculous antics end up straining their parent's relationship. As a result, they are forced to work together and grow up in order to reunite their parents.
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Made famous by "Blue Steel," male model Zoolander (Ben Stiller) is worried about becoming obsolete thanks to his rival Hansel (Owen Wilson). In turn, this makes Zoolander an easy target for evil fashion designer Mugatu, whose main goal is to brainwash the model to kill Malaysia's prime minister. The only solution is for Zoolander and Hansel to set aside their differences and take Mugatu down.
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Socially awkward Catholic schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher (Molly Shannon) dreams about dating popular student Sky Corrigan and becoming a star. In order to achieve her dreams, she enters a talent contest where her biggest rival is Sky's girlfriend Evian Graham (Elaine Hendrix). Against the wishes of her grandmother, Mary Katherine prepares to win both the contest and Sky's heart.
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Superstar is currently available on Hulu with a Starz account.
The "More Cowbell" sketch is a fictionalized version of VH1's Behind the Music focused on the recording of Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." While the rest of the SNL cast portrays the real members of the band, Ferrell portrays fictional cowbell player Gene Frenkle. After Gene's overzealous playing gets in the way of the others, they ask for him to pull back. It isn't until producer Bruce Dickinson (Christopher Walken) states "I've got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell" that Frenkel is allowed to fully embrace his performance.
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Distraught over the fact that his girlfriend has been cheating on him, attorney Mitch (Luke Wilson) moves to a new house in order to get his life back on track. With the help of his friends, newly-married Frank and party-boy Beanie (Vince Vaughn), Mitch turns his house into a fraternity in order to circumvent campus housing rules imposed by Dean Gordon Pritchard (Jeremy Piven).
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Chazz Michael Michaels and his rival, Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder), are banned from singles figure skating after they get into a fight upon tying for gold at the Winter Olympics. The only way they can get back into the sport they love is to skate as a pair.
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Brothers Doug (Chris Kattan) and Steve Butabi (Will Ferrell) still live with their parents and have no goals in life, aside from opening the hottest club the city has ever seen. After a chance run-in with Richard Grieco (who plays himself in the movie), their luck seems to change. That is, until they drift apart due to a fight and Steve gets engaged to Emily Sanderson (Molly Shannon).
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In a series of "Celebrity Jeopardy" sketches on SNL, Ferrell plays an exasperated Alex Trebek. One of the most iconic sketches involves Norm Macdonald as Burt Reynolds, Jimmy Fallon as French Stewart, and Darrell Hammond as Sean Connery.
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Desk-bound NYPD detectives Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) finally catch a break as a minor case turns into a big deal. Eager to get back into the good graces of their boss, Terry and Allen put the investigation into high-gear. However, things don't go as planned and the pair soon find themselves dealing with more than they ever could've bargained for.
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The most iconic of the recurring "Inside the Actor's Studio" SNL sketches has to be the one where James Lipton (Ferrell) interviewed Match Game star Charles Nelson Reilly (Alec Baldwin). Other celebrities include Clint Eastwood (Norm Macdonald), Billy Bob Thornton (as himself), and Dustin Diamond (Tobey Maguire).
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Best friends Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) and John (Owen Wilson) spend most of their free time crashing weddings. Things hit a snag when they crash a high-profile wedding with John falling for the Secretary of the Treasury's daughter (Rachel McAdams). This leaves Jeremy to reconnect with Chazz whose outlook on crashing is extremely different.
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Phil Weston has always been a disappointment to his father, Buck Weston (Robert Duvall). As a father himself, Phil has inherited his father's competitiveness and wants his equally un-athletic son Sam to win. Serving as Sam's soccer coach, Phil hopes to take the last-place team all the way to the championship to defeat his father.
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Megamind thinks of himself as the most powerful supervillain in the world. When he defeats his rival Metro Man (Brad Pitt), he realizes he doesn't have a purpose in life and sets out to create a new superhero. Things don't go as planned and the new hero realizes it's more fun to be the bad guy.
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Brad Whitaker wants to be the best stepfather to his wife's (Linda Cardellini) two children. When her ex-husband Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) comes back into town, things become extremely hectic. If that wasn't enough, Brad's inferiority complex finds himself in an intense battle to one-up Dusty and win back the approval of his family.
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Singer Jackie Moon sinks all his earnings from his only hit into owning a basketball team. However, his team, the Flint Michigan Tropics, is the worst in the league. To make matters worse, the ABA and NBA announce plans to merge and only a few teams will make the cut. It's up to Jackie and the Tropics to turn things around and prove they're worth keeping.
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