Arts & Culture

Will Ferrell: He’s kind of a big deal

The “Saturday Night Live” comedian answers questions about his new flick

Spencer J Eggers

March 7, 2012

Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus

Comedian Will Ferrell addresses an audience in the Hughes-Trigg theater Wednesday evening following a screening of his new Spanish-language film, “Casa de mi Padre.”

Comedian Will Ferrell addresses an audience in the Hughes-Trigg theater Wednesday evening following a screening of his new Spanish-language film, “Casa de mi Padre.” (Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus)

Actor and comedian Will Ferrell visited SMU Wednesday evening to answer a few questions posed by SMU students directly after a screening of his new film, “Casa de mi Padre” in the Hughes- Trigg Theater.

The event was put on by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and the College Hispanic American Students (CHAS) in conjunction with Pantelion Films.

Students, faculty and staff had the opportunity to view the new Spanish-language film before its release on March 16.

Only two schools, SMU and U.C. Berkley, were granted the opportunity to screen the movie, and of those two, SMU was the only school to receive a visit from Ferrell himself.

Ferrell addressed a full house after the screening ended, discussing a variety of topics ranging from body piercings (or the lack thereof) to the possibility of a “Step Brothers” sequel.

Audience members were given the chance to ask the “Anchorman” star questions.

While some chose more serious questions such as what advice Ferrell could give to burgeoning comedians, others chose more humorous alternatives such as, “could you please rub my wife’s pregnant belly?” (Which he promptly agreed to do).

During his brief time in the Hughes-Trigg theater, Ferrell spoke about his encounter with President George W. Bush during his time doing impressions of the then-presidential candidate on “Saturday Night Live” and even stirred some excitement with an impression of the former president.

When provoked, the comedian even took the time to revive an old impression from his storied past — that of late-Major League Baseball television personality Harry Caray, an impersonation made famous from the recurring “SNL” sketch.

After about 30 minutes of dialog, Ferrell’s publicity representative called the session to an end and, escorted by SMU police officers, Ferrell left the scene amidst the screams of college-aged fans and the flash of hundreds of hand-held point-and-shoot cameras.

Ferrell expressed his gratitude, wished the audience well and made an attempt at the “pony up” sign — but not before exclaiming, “Go USC!”