Comedy Fans Compared Jim Carrey And Will Ferrell's Careers (& The Winner Is Clear)
When it comes to legends of comedy, you would be hard-pressed to find two comedic actors more iconic than Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell. Both are comedic legends, having become popular through hilarious performances starting around the 1990s and continuing into the present day, with Carrey recently playing Dr. Robotnik in 2020's "Sonic the Hedgehog" and 2022's sequel "Sonic the Hedgehog 2." Ferrell has also been busy, staring alongside Ryan Reynolds in 2022's holiday-themed "Spirited."
However, it's Carrey and Ferrell's older performances that have had the time to cement themselves as classics, with Ferrell's 2003 performance in "Elf" remaining an iconic Christmas classic and Carrey's 1994 performance in "Dumb and Dumber" similarly holding its status as comedic gold, just to name two films from each actor.
Although both are beloved, fans on Reddit came together to discuss which of the two actors contributed more to comedy, and it's clear who they preferred.
Redditors think Jim Carrey is the bigger star while Will Ferrell spawned a larger comedic family tree
It's difficult to find consensus on the internet, but for the most part, Redditors who took part in u/lifesyndrome's discussion agreed that no matter how you slice it, both Will Ferrell and Jim Carrey are comedic legends. However, when deciding who comes out on top as more influential, both are winners in different respects.
Reddit user u/Owasso_Landman commented, "Both are legends. Jim Carey was probably the bigger star though. Will probably has a bigger 'family tree' if you will. His work with Funny or Die and Adam McKay spawned more collaborators to fame."
This Redditor was referring to the company founded by Ferrell, McKay and others that have produced such iconic series including "Between Two Ferns," "Billy on the Street," "Drunk History" and more. Although Ferrell himself didn't star in many of these series, he had a hand in producing all of them by co-founding the company, which means he has helped spawn a vast number of comedic legends that have risen from Funny or Die.
On the other hand, fans mostly agree that when it comes to direct performances, Carrey comes out on top. One user, u/BiggestOfTheBizzles, wrote, "At one point Jim Carey had three films all released in the same year at number one (1994 Ace Ventura, The Mask, Dumb and Dumber) I don't think will Ferrell has ever done anything like that. Both are still compete legends."
Either way, both actors are hugely influential within the world of comedy, and it seems like they will continue to hold that status for years to come.