Will Ferrell made his debut in the Dave Payne-directed 1995 crime action-thriller film ‘Criminal Hearts’ where made an uncredited appearance as a newscaster. That same year, he became a part of the American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show ‘Saturday Night Live’ created by Lorne Michaels. While he remained a part of the show until 2002, he made a brief return to ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 2018 and remained active on the show until 2019. He played the role of ‘Mustafa’ in the 1997 American spy comedy film ‘Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery’ directed by Jay Roach. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing over $67.7 million on a budget of $16.5 million. That same year, he also appeared in the American comedy film ‘Men Seeking Women’ directed by Jim Milio. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics. He next starred in films like ‘A Night at the Roxbury’ (1998), ‘Superstar’ (1999), ‘Dick’ (1999), ‘Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me’ (1999), ‘The Ladies Man’ (2000), ‘Drowning Mona’ (2000), ‘Zoolander’ (2001), ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’ (2001), and ‘Old School’ (2003). In 2003, he portrayed Buddy in the American Christmas comedy film ‘Elf’ directed by Jon Favreau. The film garnered praise from critics and went on to become a major financial success, grossing over $225.1 million on a budget of $33 million.
In 2004, he starred as ‘Ron Burgundy’ in the Adam McKay-directed American satirical comedy film ‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.’ The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed over $90.6 million on a $26 million budget. He continued to star in films like ‘Kicking & Screaming’ (2005), ‘Winter Passing’ (2005), ‘The Producers’ (2005), ‘Curious George’ (2006), ‘Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby’ (2006), ‘Blades of Glory’ (2007), ‘Land of the Lost’ (2009), ‘Everything Must Go’ (2010), and ‘Megamind’ (2010). In 2012, he played the role of ‘Armando Álvarez’ in the Spanish-language American crime action comedy film ‘Casa de mi padre’ directed by Matt Piedmont. The film opened to a mixed critical reception and received a 42% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. He next starred in films like ‘Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues’ (2013), ‘The Lego Movie’ (2014), ‘Get Hard’ (2015), ‘Daddy's Home’ (2015), ‘Zoolander 2’ (2016), ‘The House’ (2017), ‘Daddy's Home 2’ (2017), ‘Holmes & Watson’ (2018), ‘The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part’ (2019), ‘Downhill’ (2020), and ‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga’ (2020). He was last seen in the 2021 American psychological black comedy-drama miniseries ‘The Shrink Next Door’ where he played the role of Martin "Marty" Markowitz.