Though some critics weren’t thrilled with Ferrell on SNL at first (one even calling him the “most annoying newcomer”) he quickly proved himself to be one of the strongest players in the show’s history. He explained, “I don’t think we realized what level of scrutiny we were under,” and that behind the scenes, “everyone was really trying to ‘fix’ SNL.” Almost the entire cast and writers’ staff from the year prior was replaced, and SNL was the weakest link on NBC’s lineup of shows.

To make matters even more stressful, he entered the show when it was on the verge of cancellation. Two auditions and an awkward meeting later (which involved a briefcase filled with fake money), Ferrell was officially hired as a cast member. He, along with his future SNL castmates Cheri Oteri and Chris Kattan, were flown to New York to audition for Lorne Michaels. One of those places was the legendary sketch comedy theater The Groundlings, where he would not only gain the respect and admiration of his peers, but of those at Saturday Night Live. “There’s just people along the way who have kind of given you the confidence to explore these things.”Īfter a career intervention from his mom, Ferrell enrolled in classes that indulged the entertainer in him. During his work study, Ferrell dressed up as a janitor and interrupted the class in an attempt to make his friend laugh, but ended up making the stern professor chuckle as well. “It was so much fun and the time flew by that I thought I should remember this feeling because this didn't feel hard and it felt fun, and the next morning we read our little thing and people loved it.” That morsel of encouragement was followed by another unexpected supporter in his friend’s literary professor, Ronald Gottesman, at USC. In high school, he wrote radio skits for the morning announcements, which became a popular recurring bit. He did, however, enjoy being funny whenever the opportunity presented itself. A career in comedy was never his goal nor was it even on his radar. He had a happy suburban-style childhood in Irvine, California and majored in sports information at USC with the plan to become a sports broadcaster. The actor, writer, and producer examined his “circuitous route” to comedy on an episode of the Awards Chatter podcast.

Will Ferrell always pictured himself having a stereotypical desk job with a briefcase filled with stability.

Will ferrell night at the roxbury snl