Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#64
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Will Ferrell represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 28 years in, and Will is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Will Ferrell appears in 63 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Will. VOMO: Vote or Miss Out is the clearest case: a film rated 10.0 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for comedy, music, romance. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Jessica Yu, Nicholas Stoller, Beth McCarthy-Miller and others, Will Ferrell helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
VOMO: Vote or Miss Out (2020) as Self · Will & Harper (2024) as Self · The Lego Movie (2014) as Lord Business / President Business / The Man Upstairs
Career snapshot
Ranked #64 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
63
1997–2025
Career length
28 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
10.0
VOMO: Vote or Miss Out
Average Nutevio score
6.2
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
10.0
VOMO: Vote or Miss Out
Most frequent director
Adam McKay
6 films together
Longest collaboration
6×
With Adam McKay
Most common genre
Comedy
62 titles
Average runtime
1h 38m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.9
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.6
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
2020s
6.8 average MV
The 2020s are where the work and the material meet. A Very Jonas Christmas Movie, You're Cordially Invited, SNL50: The Homecoming Concert — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2020s
6.8
Across 17 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2020s
6.8
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1990s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Superstar, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Dick.
Most productive era
2000s
23 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | — | 6.82 films | 6.21 film | 6.22 films |
| Action | — | 5.83 films | 6.35 films | 7.11 film |
| Thriller | — | 5.41 film | — | — |
| Comedy | 6.25 films | 6.123 films | 6.018 films | 6.816 films |
| Crime | 6.52 films | 5.51 film | 4.92 films | — |
| Romance | 5.92 films | 6.34 films | 6.21 film | 5.91 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1997Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Mustafa.
First Nutevio masterpiece · Highest rated performance · Career peak
The first film here to clear 9.0 on our scale — a threshold fewer than one film in ten reaches. 10.0 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2025SNL50: The Homecoming Concert
The current state of the argument, as Self.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
63 of 63 films
as Self
Directed by Unknown
as Self
Directed by Josh Greenbaum
as Harold Crick
Directed by Marc Forster
as Reggie (voice)
Directed by Josh Greenbaum
as Therapist
Directed by Zach Woods
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Self
VOMO: Vote or Miss Out (2020)
Performance score9.7
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Self gives Will Ferrell a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Self
Will & Harper (2024)
Performance score8.0
Will & Harper asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Harold Crick
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Performance score7.9
Stranger Than Fiction asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Harold Crick is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Reggie (voice)
Strays (2023)
Performance score7.8
Strays asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Reggie (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Self
Start here. VOMO: Vote or Miss Out is the clearest statement of what Will Ferrell does — accessible, 45 minutes, and rated 10.0 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Will at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Keeps the comedy register of VOMO: Vote or Miss Out but asks for a colder reading of it.
David (2020)
Keeps the comedy register of Stranger Than Fiction but asks for a colder reading of it.
Strays (2023)
Keeps the comedy register of David but asks for a colder reading of it.
Will & Harper (2024)
Same director as Strays, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Adam McKay
Director
6 films together
Notably Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Jay Roach
Director
3 films together
Notably Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Ben Stiller
Director
2 films together
Notably Zoolander
Etan Cohen
Director
2 films together
Notably Get Hard
David Dobkin
Director
2 films together
Notably Wedding Crashers
Josh Greenbaum
Director
2 films together
Notably Will & Harper
Beth McCarthy-Miller
Director
2 films together
Notably The Roast of Tom Brady
Jessica Yu
Director
2 films together
Notably Quiz Lady
John Fortenberry
Director
1 film together
Notably A Night at the Roxbury
Andrew Fleming
Director
1 film together
Notably Dick
Bruce McCulloch
Director
1 film together
Notably Superstar
Nick Gomez
Director
1 film together
Notably Drowning Mona
Reginald Hudlin
Director
1 film together
Notably The Ladies Man
Kevin Smith
Director
1 film together
Notably Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Mort Nathan
Director
1 film together
Notably Boat Trip
Betty Thomas
Director
1 film together
Notably I Spy
Todd Phillips
Director
1 film together
Notably Old School
Jon Favreau
Director
1 film together
Notably Elf
Woody Allen
Director
1 film together
Notably Melinda and Melinda
Susan Stroman
Director
1 film together
Notably The Producers
Nora Ephron
Director
1 film together
Notably Bewitched
Matthew O'Callaghan
Director
1 film together
Notably Curious George
Marc Forster
Director
1 film together
Notably Stranger Than Fiction
Josh Gordon
Director
1 film together
Notably Blades of Glory
Neal Brennan
Director
1 film together
Notably The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
Brad Silberling
Director
1 film together
Notably Land of the Lost
Tom McGrath
Director
1 film together
Notably Megamind
Simon J. Smith
Director
1 film together
Notably Megamind: The Button of Doom
Matt Piedmont
Director
1 film together
Notably Casa de Mi Padre
Shawn Levy
Director
1 film together
Notably The Internship
Phil Lord
Director
1 film together
Notably The Lego Movie
Mike Mitchell
Director
1 film together
Notably The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
Fred Wolf
Director
1 film together
Notably Drunk Parents
Scott Aukerman
Director
1 film together
Notably Between Two Ferns: The Movie
Zach Woods
Director
1 film together
Notably David
Billy Corben
Director
1 film together
Notably 537 Votes
Jay Karas
Director
1 film together
Notably Feeding America Comedy Festival
Chris Henchy
Director
1 film together
Notably Impractical Jokers: The Movie
Jim Rash
Director
1 film together
Notably Downhill
Greta Gerwig
Director
1 film together
Notably Barbie
Chris Renaud
Director
1 film together
Notably Despicable Me 4
Nicholas Stoller
Director
1 film together
Notably You're Cordially Invited
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Adam McKay
Director
6 films together · 6.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 6 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron BurgundyJay Roach
Director
3 films together · 6.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Austin Powers: International Man of MysteryJosh Greenbaum
Director
2 films together · 7.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Will & HarperBeth McCarthy-Miller
Director
2 films together · 6.6 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Roast of Tom BradyJessica Yu
Director
2 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Quiz LadyDavid Dobkin
Director
2 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Wedding CrashersBen Stiller
Director
2 films together · 5.6 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
ZoolanderEtan Cohen
Director
2 films together · 5.2 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Get HardPhil Lord
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Lego MovieMarc Forster
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Stranger Than FictionChris Renaud
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Despicable Me 4Greta Gerwig
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BarbieBilly Corben
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
537 VotesZach Woods
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
DavidTom McGrath
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
MegamindMike Mitchell
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Lego Movie 2: The Second PartSimon J. Smith
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Megamind: The Button of DoomJon Favreau
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ElfChris Henchy
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Impractical Jokers: The MovieTodd Phillips
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Old SchoolMatthew O'Callaghan
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Curious GeorgeJohn Fortenberry
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Night at the RoxburyKevin Smith
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jay and Silent Bob Strike BackShawn Levy
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The InternshipSusan Stroman
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The ProducersWoody Allen
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Melinda and MelindaJosh Gordon
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Blades of GloryAndrew Fleming
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
DickNicholas Stoller
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
You're Cordially InvitedScott Aukerman
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Between Two Ferns: The MovieJay Karas
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Feeding America Comedy FestivalBrad Silberling
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Land of the LostNick Gomez
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Drowning MonaNeal Brennan
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell HardBetty Thomas
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
I SpyReginald Hudlin
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Ladies ManMatt Piedmont
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Casa de Mi PadreBruce McCulloch
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SuperstarJim Rash
Director
1 film together · 5.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
DownhillMort Nathan
Director
1 film together · 5.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Boat TripNora Ephron
Director
1 film together · 5.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BewitchedFred Wolf
Director
1 film together · 4.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Drunk ParentsSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
VOMO: Vote or Miss Out
as Self
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Stranger Than Fiction
as Harold Crick
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
VOMO: Vote or Miss Out
as Self
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Wedding Crashers
as Chazz Reinhold (uncredited)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
VOMO: Vote or Miss Out
as Self
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Will Ferrell has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
28 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Comedy Legend
Awarded
62 catalogue titles in comedy, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
VOMO: Vote or Miss Out
as Self
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
VOMO: Vote or Miss Out
as Self
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Stranger Than Fiction
as Harold Crick
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Drowning Mona
as Cubby
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
VOMO: Vote or Miss Out
as Self
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
as Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Stranger Than Fiction
as Harold Crick
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Barbie
as Mattel CEO
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Morgan Freeman
Built a career in the same territory: action and crime
Jamie Harris
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Have your say
Community
Which Will Ferrell performance holds up best?
Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
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Reference
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