17 Times Will Ferrell Broke Other Actors On Set

Will Ferrell is often considered one of the best Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast members of all time, and there's perhaps no better way to measure his impact than how much he makes his fellow actors laugh. Whether causing his SNL co-stars to break character when they're on air or making other actors crack up on the set of a movie, Ferrell has a talent for breaking his co-stars. Sometimes it's his choice of wardrobe that evokes laughter; other times, it's because he reaches out and touches his co-stars at just the right moment. There are even times when he only needs to say a single word to get his co-stars to corpse. Below, we've compiled the most memorable times Will Ferrell left his castmates in hysterics.

The 2001 SNL sketch "The Love-ahs with Barbara and Dave" places a man named Dave (Jimmy Fallon) in a hot tub with two unabashedly amorous "love-ahs" named Roger (Will Ferrell) and Virginia (Rachel Dratch) Klarvin. Here, Ferrell makes his co-stars break out laughing not once but multiple times in the same skit.

Only thirty seconds in, Fallon cracks a smile. He then spends the rest of the skit trying not to laugh, but often fails. It certainly doesn't help that Ferrell seems to be trying his darndest to get Fallon to break. Reminiscing on the skit with Ferrell for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the late night host recalled, "Right before I said my line, you'd give me a little ... squeeze on the kneecap." Meanwhile, Ferrell said, "I just remember trying to get my foot in your crotch." Looking back at the sketch, this would explain a lot. Anytime Fallon seems to laugh out of nowhere, it's probably because a "frenzy of activity" was taking place below the surface, courtesy of Ferrell. You can even see Fallon shaking his head at one point, silently begging him to stop. Of course, what goes around comes around. After Ferrell gives Fallon a bad case of the giggles, they quickly become contagious. Soon Dratch and Ferrell both crack up in the middle of their lines.

At the time, SNL creator Lorne Michaels and the other writers were annoyed at Jimmy Fallon for breaking character. In hindsight, this makes the moment even more charming.

Audiences loved Roger and Virginia so much that soon the characters were soon brought back. In the 2002 skit "Mountaintop Luvahs," the pair torment a new couple (Amy Poehler and Chris Kattan) while guest star Jack Black joins in on the amorous fun. Again, most of Ferrell's co-stars can't stop themselves from laughing. Poehler breaks character multiple times, as does Black, though we can hardly blame him since Ferrell is stroking his thigh, trying to provoke a reaction.

Here, Ferrell speaks in the same bizarre accent he used in his first appearance as Roger, and, in fact, he makes a callback to his character's stilted pronunciation of "hot tub" in the famous skit. This time he pronounces the words "Subaru" and "tow truck" with the same inflection, a decision that proves to be too much for poor Rachel Dratch, who buries her face in Ferrell's hair to hide her gleeful grin.

The "Zoolander" franchise gave Will Ferrell the opportunity to go over the top — and beyond — in his portrayal of fashion designer Jacobim Mugatu. In one scene, Ferrell admires male model Hansel (Owen Wilson), declaring, "That Hansel's so hot right now."

But one behind-the-scenes blooper reveals that, on that day of shooting, Ferrell offered up a veritable buffet of alternative takes of this line for the filmmakers. These include, "Serve me up an order of hot piping Hansel," and, "That Hansel is so hot right now, it'd burn my finger if I touched him." Milla Jovovich's character, Katinka, sits beside him, and though she's supposed to be gazing imperiously at the stage, hearing Ferrell makes her laugh out loud. Nathan Lee Graham can barely contain his smile, either.

The 2001 SNL sketch "Evil Boss" starred Will Ferrell and guest star Pierce Brosnan. The James Bond actor (sporting glasses and a haircut that 007 would not be caught dead wearing) had to play straight man to Ferrell's unhinged boss, and it just wasn't possible for him to maintain a poker face. His facade really starts to crack when Ferrell yells at Chris Kattan. When Brosnan asks, "Is this how you deal with your employees?" he trips up. It ought to be a very serious line, but Brosnan can't stop grinning.

Perhaps the funniest moment in this sketch is when Ferrell's character attacks Scott Jurgensen (Chris Parnell) with a trident and keeps driving the weapon into Scott's body even after he stops moving. Throughout all this, you can see Brosnan's shoulders shaking with laughter, and you know that Will Ferrell has done it again.

The SNL sketch "Jeffreys with Sean Hayes" showcased some top-notch comedy work even before Will Ferrell entered the room. However, as soon as Ferrell joins the skit, only a minute from the end, he manages to top everything that came before it.

Sean Hayes, who has been a picture of unflappable haughtiness for the entire sketch, remaining mostly in character up until this point, completely loses his composure when Ferrell slowly and silently enters the scene on a scooter. And who wouldn't? When Ferrell's character whips out a tiny cell phone the size of a fingernail and holds it to his ear, any reasonable person would double over with laughter. Even Ferrell can't keep a sly grin off his face. It takes a special kind of talent to make your co-stars get so red in the face that they can't even get out their lines, proving once again that Will Ferrell is a comedy genius.

Outtakes from "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" show the titular character (Will Ferrell) improvising a pickup line to Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) that's arguably better than the version from the final cut. The line that made it into the film was, "You have an absolutely breathtaking hiney. I mean, that thing is good. I want to be friends with it."

In one blooper, however, he says of Veronica's hiney, "Michelangelo would blush. I like it. And you're sitting on it." Yes, his pickup line is about as classy as a slap in the face, but upon hearing it, Applegate can't even finish her line; she's laughing so hard she needs to step away.

It's hardly a surprise that Jimmy Fallon can't keep a straight face around Will Ferrell, but in this skit (which was cut for time but was later shared on SNL's YouTube channel), Fallon isn't the only one to crack. In the skit "Gus Chiggins, Old Prospector," each of the cast members breaks down whenever they interact with Ferrell.

This skit is about a group of soldiers who are perplexed as to why a bumbling old prospector (Ferrell) is part of their covert military operation. Ferrell's character completely steals the scene, so it's no wonder everyone breaks character. When Fallon first stands up to speak, he can't stop himself from laughing — and Ferrell hasn't even said his line yet. His laughter is contagious, and soon Seth Myers, Darrell Hammond, and Tracy Morgan are all breaking character. Morgan can't even get his line out without laughing. Even Chris Kattan, who plays the commanding officer, can't stop himself from smiling. These characters are meant to be annoyed with the old prospector, but the actors' faces say otherwise.

For the SNL sketch "Reality Stars," Will Ferrell completely immerses himself in the character of Dane, a reality TV star who has undergone "the most expensive procedure from the cheapest doctor [he] could find." Ferrell is a riot here, but if you can tear your eyes away from him for one moment, you'll notice that Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant are (mostly failing at) holding back laughter. Meanwhile, Mikey Day and Beck Bennett continue to smile and laugh even as Ferrell throws chicken at them because Ferrell just has that effect on people. Even Ferrell himself breaks a little on his final line. The only performer who walks away with a straight face is the dog.

Will Ferrell is such a good comedian that sometimes he barely needs to say anything to make his co-stars crack up. Just look at this blooper from "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." In this scene, Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) sits at the table with his father, Chip (Ted Manson); his two sons (Houston Tumlin and Grayson Russell); and his buddy, Cal (John C. Reilly).

Appalled by the behavior of the kids, Chip cries, "You gonna let your sons talk to their grandfather like that? I'm their elder." The script calls for Ferrell to say, "I sure as hell am, Chip," and in this blooper, he says exactly that. But just for the heck of it, Ferrell repeats Chip's name a second time, shouting it at the top of his lungs. John C. Reilly can't help it; he bursts out laughing. Meanwhile, Manson remains as serious as ever, which somehow makes it even funnier. This is one of those bloopers that makes us love Will Ferrell even more.

In this SNL skit called "Cast List" (which was unfortunately cut for time), Will Ferrell plays a drama teacher who enjoys watching his students squirm. In a moment that was likely not in the original rehearsal, the other actors crowd around Ferrell, itching for a glimpse of the cast list — but they get a bit too close. When Aidy Bryant bumps into Ferrell, he shoos her away, shouting, "Back up, please!" This causes the actors to stumble backward — some of them quite literally.

Bryant covers her mouth to keep from laughing, while Mikey Day forgets for a moment that he's on camera and asks Ferrell, "What are you doing?" Nonplussed, Ferrell finds his footing and gets the skit back on track, because as any drama teacher would tell you, "The show must go on."

For every funny line we see in a Will Ferrell movie, there are two equally hysterical lines that didn't make the final cut. The film "The Other Guys" contains some hilarious dialogue where Allen (Ferrell) and Sheila (Eva Mendes) describe the story of how they met, a meet-cute like something out of a Meg Ryan romcom (except with more poison ivy). But there's another line Ferrell improvised for this scene, and it's a shame it didn't appear in the movie. After all, it was so good that it made Eva Mendes crack up in the middle of a take.

In one blooper for this scene, we hear Ferrell say, "I was so full of testosterone, I actually killed a coyote." We don't know the exact context of this absurd anecdote, but honestly, when we're left to fill in the blanks ourselves, it makes it even funnier.

It's hard enough to keep a straight face when Will Ferrell is hamming it up across the room, but it must be even more difficult when he gets in your face and shouts. In the 1998 SNL sketch "The Sensitive Drill Sergeant," Ferrell does exactly that to his co-star, David Spade. Earlier in the skit, Spade cracks up because of Ferrell — and for this offense, Ferrell makes him do twenty push-ups. Later in the skit, when Spade speaks up again, Ferrell yells, "You still think this is a giggle fest, Private Son-of-a-B****?" (Apparently, he does, because Spade can't stop himself from smiling.)

Sensing weakness in his scene partner's defenses, Ferrell moves in for the kill. He begins punctuating his words by prodding Spade with the brim of his hat, each time more aggressively (and, strangely, affectionately) than the one before. Spade fights to hold back his laughter, but, alas, it's a battle he cannot win.

In a 1998 SNL sketch, Ferrell plays sportscaster Harry Caray opposite Joan Allen as NASA Flight Director Linda Ham. As the two discuss space exploration, Allen makes a valiant effort to stay in character, but she's no match for Ferrell's side-splitting Harry Caray impression — a persona so hilarious he used it to audition for SNL.

Once again, all Ferrell needs to do to make his co-star crack up is shout a character's name. In this case, he echoes "Linda Ham" three times before asking her, "Does your name ever make you hungry?" Allen can't help herself, and she laughs out loud. For the rest of the skit, Ferrell bombards her with one absurd line after another, and, by the end, keeping a straight face has become a lost cause for her.

Will Ferrell improvised so many alternate versions of his lines while working on "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" that the filmmakers were able to compile these alternate takes into a whole new version of the film. Of course, there were also some moments that don't appear in any of the movie's various cuts because Ferrell made his fellow actors break character.

Like any reasonable person who is about to appear on live television, Ron Burgundy goes through a vocal warm-up routine, chanting, "The bishop wore buttless chaps to the Bat Mitzvah," or screaming, "Grab the children! Save the children!" But in one outtake, he leaves Christina Applegate laughing so hard that it ruins the take. Still laughing, she tells him, "F*** you!"

For much of the SNL sketch called "Dr. Beaman's Office: Test Results," Will Ferrell manages to stay in character — and what a character! Everything about his kooky OB/GYN doctor is delightfully absurd. Yet once Ferrell calls in the esteemed Dr. Poop (Tim Meadows) and watches his colleague show off his dance moves to the perplexed couple (Molly Shannon and Chris Parnell), Ferrell starts to lose control. He takes a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose, wipe his eyes, and gather his composure, and you can hear the laughter in his voice when he declares, "The truth is, we misplaced your baby."

If a skit is so funny that Ferrell himself breaks character, then that means nobody else stands a chance. After this, Shannon can't stop laughing. To his eternal credit, Parnell manages to keep a straight face — or at least conceals his laughter so well that it looks like his character is angry instead of cracking up. It's no wonder that Chris Parnell earned the SNL nickname "Ice Man" for his ability to keep a stoic face even when all the other actors were cracking up.

In the 2001 SNL sketch "Short Shorts for the USA," Ferrell's character shows his patriotic spirit while showing the other actors his butt cheeks. Rumor has it that Ferrell was originally supposed to wear shorts with the American flag printed on them (behind-the-scenes photos seem to confirm this), but he swapped them out for a star-spangled thong the day the skit went live.

Almost all of the actors seem to be making a point to look away from Ferrell, as if they're afraid that they will burst out laughing. Guest star Seann William Scott, however, had no choice in the matter because he needed to exchange several lines with Ferrell. Seeing the comedian like this was too much for Horatio Sanz, whose shoulders can be seen shaking with laughter. When Ferrell asks, "What?" Sanz only laughs harder. Of course, this isn't the only time Ferrell's wardrobe choices on SNL left us rolling on the floor.

"More Cowbell" is easily one of the best and most famous SNL skits of all time, and that's in no small part thanks to Will Ferrell. Watching the comedian play his heart out on the cowbell is the highlight of the sketch, so it's no wonder his castmates crack up again and again. Unsurprisingly, Jimmy Fallon is the first to break, but soon Chris Kattan's defenses crumble, too; although his mustache masks it, you can tell he's stifling a laugh by the way he sticks out his lower lip. And if you look closely, you'll notice Ferrell himself grins in the middle of his passionate monologue. As he recalled on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, "I was laughing too, but the beard was just protecting [me] — You couldn't see it."

Miraculously, Chris Parnell manages to hold it together — at least while he's on camera. On Late Night with Seth Myers, Parnell shared, "There was a moment that the camera was not on me, and I knew it wasn't on me, and I looked down at my guitar, and I smiled." Christopher Walken also appears to keep a straight face throughout the skit, but perhaps he had it easy, since he could disappear behind the door while Ferrell was doing his cowbell routine. And we'd be remiss not to mention Horatio Sanz, whose face is in-frame during that crucial moment where Ferrell and Parnell's characters make amends. For a moment, the corner of his mouth turns up, and you think he might smile, but he somehow manages to maintain his composure, making him one of the only SNL cast members who didn't break character in the cowbell sketch.