I think Carrell has the most range. The Office, Bruce Almighty (haven't seen Evan Almighty yet) the 40yr old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine. He definitely is showing range. I like Will Farrell, but when I'm watching a Will Farrell movie, I know I'm watching Will Farrell. His characters are the same 2 people over and over.
Yeah, he kinda stole the show in that small anchor role. Anyways, I like all of 'em, but if I HAD to pick, I would go with Will Ferrell.
I forgot to mention this in the original post. Achilleus is correct; all the guys listed in the original post are in or are an extension of the "frat pack".
It depends on what the project was. If I was told I would need to pick an actor first and then craft a project around the person, I would probably go with Luke Wilson, Jack Black or Will Ferrel. Last on the list would be Vince Vaughn. He can hold his own, but is seldom spectacular, and never stands out. Ben Stiller is great because he can write, direct, and has the ability to see the larger picture more than any of those guys. The best performance that I've seen from that crowd was probably from Jack Black in School of Rock. He was in every scene of that movie, and really had to carry the film from start to finish, and he came through in a big way. Seth Rogan is great, but I don't think he has broad range that he could play. Steve Carell is an amazing actor, who finds levels of depths to his comedy and characters that most of the others don't. But I also think that it would have to be a particular type of movie in order for him to work as the lead.
i'm thinking you're sarcastic, but in case not, i can't think of a better comedic actor that fits that description. loved farley though. i'd probably go with ferrell or carrell currently but i've liked all those actors in one movie or another.
I don't know how anyone could see Swingers and say Vaughn never stands out. I think that performance is at the level of the best stuff put out by any of these actors. Chosing from this list I would have to go with Vince or Seth Rogan, although a strong argument could be made for Will Farrell. Ben Stiller hasn't been able to carry a movie for a long time, and his best stuff is as a supporting character in a movie like his roles in Dodgeball and Happy Gilmore. Jack Black is funny, but I don't think he reaches the peaks of the others. Probably my favorite stuff from him was the old Tenacious D stuff (not the movie). Steve Carrell was great in the 40YOV and is good on the office, but I would not say he is consistent. Owen Wilson, by far my favorite role of his was in the Wedding Crashers, and he was not as good as Vince in that. I did love the seven different kinds of smoke scene from Dupree.
I think Swingers was Vaughn's best work. The role was written for him, and is based partially on him, so it makes sense. I still wouldn't put his performance on par with the other guys. I like him, but he's better as the devious/bad influence friend, rather than a lead. I agree with Stiller about him being better as a supporting character, I was just giving him credit because his talents branch out more than the other guys. I also agree that the old Tenacious D stuff was the funniest for Jack Black. But I still believe he has the chops to carry almost anything off if he's given the freedom to do what he does best. Owen Wilson's best role IMO was Bottle Rocket. After that I thought he was absolutely hilarious in both of the Shanghai Noon pictures. He's just a funny guy in almost everything he does.
I love this topic, here is my list.. 25. David Koechner 24. Goldie Hawn 23. David Cross 22. Paul Rudd 21. Sacha Baron Cohen 20. Leslie Nielsen 19. Lily Tomlin 18. Steve Martin 17. Gilda Radner 16. Christopher Walken 15. Vince Vaughn 14. Whoopie Goldberg 13. Chris Farley 12. Mike Myers 11. Robin Williams 10. Ben Stiller 9. Bill Murry 8. Steve Carell 7. Jack Black 6. Eddie Murphy 5. Adam Sandler 4. Will Ferrell 3. Gene Wilder 2. Chevy Chase 1. Jim Carrey
Will Ferrell, by far. Among those, he's the only one that seems to consistently be a funny actor. Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn seem like they're playing themselves in every movie, but it's still funny. Steve Carrill has been in some funny movies, but every time I see one I can't help but thinking someone else would be better. Same thing with the Office. I enjoy it, but I'd certainly cast someone different. Seth Rogen is 10X the writer that he is actor. Ben Stiller and Jack Black are just awful.
