What’s so funny about Will Ferrell? Almost everything, yes, but why? Why do we love his parade of odd, yet universally engaging characters and movies? Don’t ask him. We tried, and got the most un-definitive, but probably most honest answer: We don’t know. No one ever truly knows what makes a movie or a sketch or a character work. So why not just have fun with them? Ferrell talks to Off Camera about his path from standup to Saturday Night Live to film, and the haphazard beginning of Funny or Die – arguably the first successful sketch comedy on the Internet (you know you’ve started something when Michelle Obama asks you “Where’s my money, bitch?”)
We talk to him about the self-inflicted weirdest moment of his career…en español, why the best SNL sketches are the ones you’ve probably never seen and breaking the rules of comedy – assuming you believe there are any. It’s all good stuff, but what’s most fascinating is how no matter what personae he pulls from his grab bag of inventions, they all manage to connect a believable, engaging way. Perhaps it’s his penchant for being naked. Perhaps he’s so willing to bare all and be vulnerable in service to his art. Or maybe he just likes it.