10. Mustafa — “Austin Powers 1 & 2 (1997/1999)
The first time we remember seeing Ferrell (as non-‘SNL‘ watching Europeans, anyway) was his brief cameo in the first “Austin Powers” picture, as the Rasputin-like, seemingly unkillable, fez-wearing henchman Mustafa, which he then reprised in the sequel. It’s a little uncomfortable now, given that he’s doing it in brownface, but, both times, Ferrell gets some of the biggest laughs in the movie, even while being off-screen for most of his appearance.
9. Nick Halsley — “Everything Must Go” (2010)
Probably Ferrell’s purest entry into drama so far, indie “Everything Must Go,” based on a Raymond Carver short story, saw him play an alcoholic kicked out by his wife, who decides to sell all his possessions in a yard sale, bonding with Rebecca Hall’s housewife and Christopher Wallace (yes, Biggie’s son)’s local kid along the way. It’s low-key and somewhat unremarkable, but very solid, and Ferrell is excellent, suggesting he should flex those dramatic muscles more often.
8. Jacobim Mugatu — “Zoolander” (2001)
A role that he’ll reprise in the currently-lensing, long-awaited sequel, Mugatu, the absurdly-coiffed, Malaysian-prime-minister-assassinating designer villain of Ben Stiller’s fashion-industry satire “Zoolander,” gave Ferrell his biggest mainstream exposure up to that point. And rightly so: he’s a diabolically silly bad guy who pulls off the tricky task of being both funny in his own right and proving an effectively exasperated straight man to Stiller’s stupidity.
7. President Business/Lord Business/The Man Upstairs — “The Lego Movie” (2014)
What seemed like initially like a fun reprise of Ferrell’s more villainous work, which was nevertheless not as inspired as the rest of “The Lego Movie,” takes on a new level in the film’s famously ballsy third act, as we discover that Ferrell also plays the live-action owner of the Legos. It’s basically an entirely straight role, and Ferrell makes the pathos land while also showing the common thread between the dad and the ‘bad guy’ his son makes him out to be.
6. Allen Gamble — “The Other Guys” (2010)
Underrated in the Ferrell canon, but ripe for an “Anchorman“-style revival, this McKay/Ferrell joint, like all of Ferrell’s many double-headers, relies on comic chemistry rather than plot. But that’s okay, because Mark Wahlberg is just the right level of straight man to Ferrell’s even-straighter police accountant, Gamble, with his homely wife (Eva Mendes), his “Faceback” app that lets you know what the back of someone’s head looks like, and his very novel take on lion vs. tuna.
