A graduate of the University of Southern California, Ferrell became interested in performing while a student at University High School in Irvine, California, where he made his school's daily morning announcements over the public address system in disguised voices. Will Ferrell started as a member of the Los Angeles comedy/improve group The Groundlings, where fellow cast members Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph and former SNL repertory players such as Laraine Newman, Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman began their careers. It was there Will met Chris Kattan and the two became good friends and they would both go on to Saturday Night Live later. He has also appeared on several television programs, including “Strangers with Candy,” “Grace Under Fire” and “Living Single,” during his time at The Groundlings. Will also lent his voice to the arm- less and leg-less dad of cartoon family “The Oblongs.”
In 1995 Will became a feature cast member at Saturday Night Live during the show's rapid recasting. He was declared quite possibly the worst cast member ever during his first season. However, his talents of impersonations and range of characters shot him forward to making him arguably the greatest SNL cast member ever. During his seven year run he is one of the few cast members to ever be nominated for an Emmy for a performance and played George W. Bush during the 2000 elections. He's appeared in every Saturday Night Live movie since his premiere on the show in 1995. In 2002 he left SNL and was the only cast member to ever receive a farewell from all the current cast members at the end of the season finale show. Since leaving the show Will has pursued a career in film. In 2000 he married and now lives in L.A.
