Adam McKay Discusses his Previous Friendship with Will Ferrell and the Circumstances that led to their Split

Adam McKay, Hollywood's famous funnyman, reveals what led to the split between him and his long-time friend, Will Ferrell.

Image Source: Harald Krichel

Will Ferrel is a popular funnyman in Hollywood but he also remains in limelight for many reasons. This time, he is into the news for the splitting of his friendship with the filmmaker. Adam McKay.

They created many popular flicks such as “Step Brothers,” “Daddy’s Home,” “Vice,” and “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.”

The pair, however, announced their split in 2019 and released a statement that suggested they would be friends and creative collaborators — but it was not the case.

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, McKay revealed that it was a casting choice that ultimately caused the split between them, despite Ferrell previously stating that they would disband Gary Sanchez Productions (GSP) on numerous occasions.

In October, Ferrell said the pair had “different amounts of bandwidth,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

With the two on the outs, it appears that tension has been building in the firm for some time, with Vanity Fair reporting that McKay and Ferrell’s team members were frequently at odds with one another.

After that, a new venture for McKay arrived: an HBO miniseries about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers. The filmmaker cast Ferrell as Jerry Buss.

McKay wanted to cast Ferrell’s close friend and frequent collaborator John C. Reilly, who resembles Buss.

“I didn’t want to cause [Ferrell’s] feelings any harm,” McKay explained. “I wanted to be polite.”

Although Ferrell was cast, he wasn’t told about the recasting. He took it personally, since McKay had hired Reilly to play the part before him.

“I should have phoned him and I didn’t,” McKay added. “Reilly, of course, because Reilly is a stand-up guy. ”

While Ferrell and McKay have previously denied any animosity, the pair’s joint statement following the breakup said, “We’ve always worked together creatively, and we’ll continue to do so.” This hasn’t been the case.

In the preceding year, they had a tense conversation over the phone about whether or not to end the firm.

The limited series that has yet to be titled was most recently moved under McKay’s Hyperobject Industries production arm.

The filmmaker stated that he’d written emails to Ferrell, attempting to reconcile, but has yet to receive a response.

McKay assumed the riff would “blow over” and anticipated being able to laugh it off as “commercial trash” in six months to a year.

“Ferrell took it as a tragedy that I would have never imagined,” McKay said. “And I reached out to him in the effort of trying to heal.”

I stated that I had endured a lot of unpleasant things that were never apologized for. For McKay, the choice stands out like a sore thumb these days.