Courtesy of Netflix, Bravo & 20th Century Studios.
There's something to be said when you put together three of the most powerful performers, comedians & actors in Hollywood in a room to discuss their favorite films. You really get a better picture of how they got started, you begin to appreciate the different types of comedy they grew up on, and everything just starts to make sense about how they got where they are today. And that can be said when comedy royalty Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig & Will Ferrell discussed their favorite films.
During their press tour promoting the animated comedy juggernaut Despicable Me 4, the famed comedians & actors revealed their favorite movies when speaking to Letterboxd, the social media app for film fans, in their recurring video segment Four Favorites. While they answered the "four favorites" question for all films outside of the comedy genre, their answers really put into perspective how these influences shaped their careers & comedy stylings. Here were all their responses below.
Steve Carell's Favorite Movies
- Dr. Strangelove
- Sunset Boulevard
- Some Like It Hot
- Being There
Before breaking out into more critical acclaim & dramatic roles within the last decade of his career, Steve Carell broke out in the comedy space for his fan-favorite roles in The Office, The 40 Year Old Virgin, & Anchorman. After Carell revealed that two of his favorite films were Dr. Strangelove & Being There, it comes as no surprise seeing how legendary comedian & actor Peter Sellers shaped his career.
Sellers has been famously called "a chameleon" by leading actress Bette Davis throughout his career for his wide arsenal of roles he's taken from the classic war comedy Dr. Strangelove, to the dramedy Being There, & even playing the original Inspector Jacques Clouseau in the first installment of The Pink Panther. To see Carell from a far emulate a legend like Sellers from his work makes following the soon to be Four Seasons actor all the more fascinating to watch.
Kristen Wiig's Favorite Movies
- Dr. Strangelove
- Sunset Boulevard
- Airplane
- The Naked Gun
- Top Secret
While sharing Dr. Strangelove & Sunset Boulevard with Carell as one of her favorites comes as no surprise, the same can be said Kristen Wiig's latter three picks. She called out three of the renowned comedic film director David Zucker's films, Airplane!, The Naked Gun & Top Secret, as her favorites (all of which go down as some of the best parody films ever made).
The famed Saturday Night Live star & Bridesmaids scribe's inspiration & impact from those films couldn't be more evident, given how she's performed so much similar off the wall & risk taking comedy in her own projects inspired by those films. She even mentions in the segment for Airplane!, "I know there's some parts in there now that don't quite transition to the present/age well."
Will Ferrell's Favorite Movies
- Being There
- It’s A Wonderful Life
- Kazaam
- Animal House
- Caddyshack
Will Ferrell couldn't have been more of a troll & sillier with the responses he gave for his favorite films. After adding Carell's pick Being There & the holiday classic It's A Wonderful Life to his list, Will says he'd add "the movie where Shaquille O'Neal played a genie," later referring to the 1996 fantasy comedy & box office bomb Kazaam, which Ferrell knows with be a "duh" to Letterboxd's subscribers. He later unofficially said "don't forget Booty Call" which he was likely (maybe) kidding about.
Then getting on to the serious answers, Ferrell calls out two comedy classics that easily & visibly shaped his career: Animal House & Caddyshack. The SNL alum later elaborated on how much he loved films growing up that were "very ensemble" and that shows when you call out a few of the actor's biggest films Anchorman, Talledega Nights & Old School.
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