Will Ferrell's 10 Best Saturday Night Live Characters, Ranked
Comedy icon Will Ferrell appeared on the docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night to look back on his days as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. First appearing on the show in 1995, Ferrell quickly became one of the show's most prominent cast members as he portrayed several hilarious characters. Will Ferrell eventually left Saturday Night Live after seven seasons, leaving behind an illustrious comedic legacy on the show that made him famous.
Throughout his time as an actor on SNL, Ferrell succeeded in portraying several original characters and doing celebrity impressions on the show. These characters and Ferrell's performances have helped make him one of Hollywood's best comedians at the time, and this prestige remains in the present day. Whether they appeared in a single sketch or they were recurring characters, the hilarious personas that Ferrell played on Saturday Night Live burned themselves into the minds of countless fans.
10 Dale
Will Ferrell Celebrated America In The Most Hilarious Way
Featured in the first Saturday Night Live episode after the September 11th terrorist attacks, Will Ferrell delivered much-needed laughs and patriotism to American audiences as Dale. Rocking a crop top with red, white, and blue short shorts, Dale shows off his love for America, among other things, with a surprising choice of wardrobe that broke everyone in front of and behind the camera. But as everyone else cracks up, Ferrell keeps a remarkably straight face as he walks around on live TV half-naked and comes up with ridiculous nicknames for his genitals.
Somehow, Dale reaches even greater heights of hilarity when his short shorts rip apart. Ferrell somehow keeps his cool as he tries to cover himself in front of his live studio audience, effectively carrying this glorious sketch until the very end. Ferrell's performance as Dale displayed the depth of his skills and versatility as a comedic actor, making for one of the best moments in his career.
9 Dr. Beaman
This Bizarre Doctor Is Quite The Vondruke
Dr. Beaman is one of the more hilariously bizarre characters on Saturday Night Live. He's also one of Ferrell's most ridiculous personas, which says a lot. The comedian has repeatedly played this horrible doctor on the show, meeting with his patients about one of his many medical blunders. He even mocks patients while talking on the phone and right to their faces.
Since Beaman has coworkers who are just as odd as him, his character fits well with the absurd tone of the sketch.
Ferrell's deadpan delivery effectively contrasts with Beaman's incompetence, as he makes several mistakes while delivering many nonsensical remarks to his patients. Since Beaman has coworkers who are just as odd as him, his character fits well with the absurd tone of the sketch. One could even consider Ferrell's absurd character a prototype of Chris Parnell's Dr. Spaceman on 30 Rock. Dr. Beaman is a lot of things, but as shown in his sketch, "vondruke" is the best word to capture the ineptness, nastiness, and ridiculousness of this character.
8 Roger Clarvin
Will Ferrell And Rachel Dratch Played The True Odd Couple
Will Ferrell paired up with co-star Rachel Dratch to portray the "lov-ahs" Virginia and Roger Clarvin, who have become one of the most hysterical and memorable characters on Saturday Night Live. This sexually-charged couple are always seen discussing their romantic past with total strangers, usually while they sit together in a hot tub. Wherever they are, the Clarvins' erotic antics and the way they recount them have always made them weird and wacky characters in the world of SNL.
Roger even manages to make Jimmy Fallon break character whenever he shows up, making the sketch even better. However, when Virginia and Roger finally decide to do the dirty deed, the latter's back suddenly hurts, and he tells Virginia to get off him. The way Ferrell switches to his normal voice to yell at Dratch always caps off an entertaining sketch on a ridiculously high note.
7 Marty Culp
Will Ferrell Created A Musical Comedy With Anya Gasteyer
Every school has that awkward teacher, and Will Ferrell brought two of them to life with co-star Ana Gasteyer. In a recurring sketch, the pair portray married music teachers at Altadena Middle School: Marty and Bobbi-Mohan Culp. With Marty at the piano, the Culps try and fail to be hip and appeal to their young audiences by performing renditions of popular modern songs. The duo may embarrass themselves in front of their students, but the Culps always get laughs and applause from SNL viewers.
All in all, Marty Culp is a shining example of Ferrell's skills as a straight-faced comedian.
Though he sings backup to Bobbi's operatic, high-pitched vocals, Ferrell's deadpan delivery of the most inappropriate, out-of-place lyrics matches Gasteyer's performance. This has made both Marty and Bobbi the perfect musical duo for cringe comedy, and they managed to make an appearance on Saturday Night Live's 40th anniversary special.
6 James Lipton
Ferrell's Talk Show Host Was Simply Scrumtralescent
Saturday Night Live spoofed Inside the Actors Studio, with Ferrell impersonating the talk show's peculiar host, James Lipton. Ferrell's parody of an already hyperbolic character seems like he was born on Mars. This bizarre character frequently appears in this sketch staring wide-eyed into space, making random, dramatic pauses, and using such flowery language that he hilariously parodies the real James Lipton and his distinctive mannerisms.
Even though his guests in the sketch are average actors, Ferrell's Lipton goes above and beyond to paint them as national treasures. Ferrell gives overzealous praise to them and their performances with such comedic gusto that the comedian deserves an acting award himself. Most notably, Ferrell's character coined the term "scrumtralescent"to describe Charles Nelson Reilly's work, including his performance in Cannonball Run II. This single-handedly established James Lipton as an odd and outrageous gem in Ferrell's long list of celebrity impressions.
5 Steve Butabi
Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan Danced the '90s Away
As one half of the "Roxbury Guys," Steve Butabi is usually shown on Saturday Night Live cruising through the streets of New York City with his brother Doug to hit nightclubs and pick up women. Both characters are best known for how they bob their heads to the sound of "What Is Love" by the singer Haddaway. Like his brother, Steve has zero respect for people's personal space when they're at the club.
Ferrell plays off Kattan so well in this sketch, they were even able to get their own movie, Night at the Roxbury, cementing both Steve and Doug Butabi as modern comedy icons.
Whenever they find a woman on the dance floor, both Steve and Doug make fools of themselves as they shove her back and forth with their hips. Such a hysterical display of physical comedy hearkens back to the Festrunk Brothers on SNL, helping turn Ferrell and Kattan into household names during their first season on the show together. Ferrell plays off Kattan so well in this sketch, they were even able to get their own movie, Night at the Roxbury, cementing both Steve and Doug Butabi as modern comedy icons.
4 Craig the Spartan Cheerleader
Will Ferrell Showed Audiences True School Spirit on SNL
Will Ferrell joined forces with Cheri O'Teri to portray Spartan Cheerleaders Craig and Arianna during their first season on Saturday Night Live. Though these characters never made the high school cheer squad, they continue to pursue their passion and cheer at events where they aren't invited. Even at non-sporting events, Craig and Arianna find a way to cheer for their "team" with funny rhymes and wacky routines.
Oblivious to the fact that they're not wanted, Ferrell and O'Teri's characters poke fun at real-life cheerleaders with their characters' constantly peppy attitudes. On top of all that, their absurd cheerleading routines make for hysterical physical comedy. All in all, Craig the Spartan Cheerleader helped Ferrell make a remarkable first impression on Saturday Night Live, and he has since become one of his funniest and most recognizable characters on the show.
3 Gene Frenkle
Will Ferrell Left The World Wanting More Cowbell
Saturday Night Live's most acclaimed sketch to date is arguably "More Cowbell," which got its own episode on SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night. Starring Christopher Walken and written by Will Ferrell, the mockumentary sketch spoofs Blue Öyster Cult's recording of "(Don't Fear) the Reaper," with Ferrell playing band member Gene Frenkle. While Walken's character has been quoted most for his catchphrase, Ferrell's performance has gone down in comedy history as an all-time great.
When Walken is not on-screen, Ferrell steals the show when the band starts playing the cowbell and dances around the studio. Everything about Ferrell's Frenkle is hilarious, from his '70s-era outfit to the way he thrusts his hips to how he makes his shirt rise up and shows off his belly. This sketch shows both Ferrell's ability to make comedy gold out of the littlest things, going above and beyond to make people laugh while keeping a straight face.
2 Alex Trebek
Will Ferrell Hosted The Funniest Fake Game Show On Television
Ironically, Will Ferrell is the odd one out in this sketch, as he once again plays the straight man to great success. On SNL's "Celebrity Jeopardy!", he impersonates the late great game show host Alex Trebex. However, this version of Trebek is exhausted and broken down from constantly dealing with the ridiculous, slow-witted celebrities who appear on his game show. Even when the categories and questions are incredibly easy, Trebek seems to lose every time as his bone-headed contestants fail to answer correctly and get into all kinds of shenanigans on the set.
Trebek particularly shares iconic feuds with actors Sean Connery and Burt Reynolds, who are played to perfection by Darrell Hammond and Norm Macdonald, respectively. The way Trebek puts up with the vulgar nonsense from Connery and Reynolds has helped make "Celebrity Jeopardy!" one of the most hilarious and popular recurring sketches in Saturday Night Live's long history. As a result, Ferrell fittingly wrapped up his time on SNL on "Celebrity Jeopardy!" with a guest appearance from the real Alex Trebek.
1 George W. Bush
Will Ferrell's President Is An Icon Of Political Comedy
Several actors have impersonated multiple U.S. Presidents throughout all fifty seasons of Saturday Night Live. However, Will Ferrell's buffoonish version of George W. Bush remains the best fake President of them all. The actor created plenty of laughs on SNL with his childish, incompetent, and slow-witted version of the 43rd President. No other cast member came close to impersonating Bush with the same amount of success as Ferrell.
With his impersonation of Bush, Ferrell gave a stare that somehow portrays both burning intensity and profound confusion, capturing the essence of his confounding, political character. At the same time, Ferrell successfully replicates Bush's Texas accent while presenting such a loose grasp of the English language. Like the real President Bush, Ferrell's impersonation of him has led to several hilarious "Bushisms," such as when he coined the now-iconic phrase "strategery." He was so popular that he even got his own comedic Broadway play, You're Welcome America, as a goodbye to both Bush as president and Ferrell's most hilarious character.
SN50: Beyond Saturday Night is a four-part docuseries that honors SNL's legacy, featuring over 60 contributors. It examines the audition process, the writers’ room, iconic sketches like "More Cowbell," and pivotal events like Season 11, providing an in-depth look at the show’s rich history and influence.
- Main Genre
- Documentary
- Number of Episodes
- 4
- Seasons
- 1
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