ABOUT THE CAST

Will Ferrell (Buddy)
Will Ferrell is perhaps best known for his work on the legendary NBC late night hit Saturday Night Live, having taken the nation by storm during INDECISION 2000 by impersonating President George W. Bush on the show. Some of his most memorable SNL characters include Craig the Spartan Cheerleader, the musical middle school teacher Marty Culp, and Tom Wilkins, the hyperactive co-host of "Morning Latte." Among his many impressions were Janet Reno, Alex Trebek, Neil Diamond and the late great Chicago Cubs sportscaster, Harry Caray. His work on SNL garnered him two prestigious Emmy Award nominations in 2001 for Outstanding Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program and for Outstanding Writing for A Variety, Music or Comedy Program.

In the feature film world, Ferrell helped bring in big numbers for Old School for DreamWorks Pictures and director Todd Phillips (Road Trip). The film follows three men who are dissatisfied with their lives. In an effort to recapture the youthful feelings of their college days, they move in together in a large house near their old college campus that quickly become the hub of the campus party activity. Ferrell stars opposite Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson.

Set for an early 2004 release is the comedy Anchorman for Regency Enterprises and 20th Century Fox. Ferrell co-wrote the script with "SNL" writer Adam McKay. Judd Appatow ("Freaks and Geeks") will produce with David O. Russell (Three Kings) set to executive produce. Ferrell will portray Ron Burgundy, a 1970s anchorman with an inflated ego, who becomes threatened by the arrival of an ambitious female newscaster who, unlike Burgundy, has mastered journalism.

Ferrell will also star in the next as-yet-untitled Woody Allen feature as part the ensemble cast including Josh Brolin, Brooke Smith, Amanda Peet, Zak Orth, Wallace Shawn, Chloe Sevigny, Johnny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Gene Saks and Vanessa Shaw for Fox Searchlight. Shooting has just commenced in typical Woody fashion in New York City, where, immediately following, Ferrell will remain to shoot Winter Passing with Ed Harris, Zooey Seschanel, and Amelia Warner.

In 2001, Ferrell co-starred in two ensemble comedies. In the fashion-world-themed Zoolander, he starred opposite Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, playing Mugatu an over-the-top fashion designer. In the Kevin Smith film, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, he played an ambitious park ranger for Dimension Films. In 2000, Ferrell graced the big screen in the Paramount Pictures/ SNL feature The Ladies Man starring "SNL" castmate, Tim Meadows. Prior to The Ladies Man, he starred in Superstar for Paramount opposite another "SNL" castmate, Molly Shannon; in the Tristar/Phoenix Pictures Nixon parody Dick; and in the Paramount comedy, A Night At The Roxbury, which he co-wrote with castmate Chris Kattan and Steve Koran. Ferrell debuted as a feature film star in the Jay Roach hit, Austin Powers: International man of Mystery.

Raised in Irvine, California, Ferrell attended the University of Southern California and graduated with a degree in sports information. Upon graduation, he worked as a sportscaster on a weekly show broadcast over a local cable channel. Soon after, he enrolled in acting classes and stand-up comedy workshops at a nearby community college. Ultimately, he was asked to join the esteemed comedy/improv group The Groundlings after just one year of training. It was at The Groundlings where Ferrell was discovered for "Saturday Night Live."

James Caan (Walter)
James Caan, one of the most versatile actors in motion pictures, is best known for his Academy Award® nominated performance as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather and for his Emmy-nominated portrayal of football star Brian Piccolo in Brian’s Song.
Appearing in over 70 feature films in his career, Caan earned great recognition starring in Rob Reiner’s highly successful and critically praised film Misery, a psychological thriller based on the novel by Stephen King; and in For the Boys, a romantic drama co-starring Bette Midler.
Caan currently stars in the NBC television series, “Las Vegas” and will next be seen on the big screen in Lars Von Trier’s Dogville, co-starring Nicole Kidman.

Among Caan’s many other feature film credits are Cinderella Liberty, Funny Lady, A Bridge Too Far, Chapter Two, Thief, T.R. Baskin, The Gambler, Slither, Silent Movie, Rollerball, The Killer Elite, Harry and Walter Go to New York, and Another Man, Another Chance; Comes a Horseman, Kiss Me Goodbye, Gardens of Stone and Alien Nation; Flesh and Bone, The Program, The Yards, Honeymoon in Vegas, Eraser, Mickey Blue Eyes and Rabbit, Run. He directed as well as starred in the critically acclaimed Hide in Plain Sight.

Zooey Deschanel (Jovie)
Zooey Deschanel is swiftly emerging as one of Hollywood's most sought after young actresses. Recently she received critical acclaim for her performances in the film All the Real Girls directed by David Gordon Green which premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival and for her role along side Don Cheadle in the independent feature Manic, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001.

In 2002, audiences had the opportunity to see Zooey in three films. She co-starred with Katie Holmes and Benjamin Bratt in the Paramount thriller Abandon; she received rave reviews for her performance opposite Jennifer Aniston in The Good Girl; and she co-starred in Disney's ensemble film Big Trouble for director Barry Sonnenfeld along with Tim Allen and Renee Russo.

Audiences have already witnessed her charismatic screen presence. She made her feature film debut in 1999 in Lawrence Kasdan's ensemble film, Mumford and then co-starred with Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson and Frances McDormand in Cameron Crowe's critically acclaimed film, Almost Famous. Her theatre background includes the role of Little Red Riding Hood in Interact Theatre Company's production of "Into The Woods" for which she received numerous accolades.

Next spring, audiences will see her star in the independent film Eulogy with Debra Winger, Ray Romano and Hank Azaria. She begins work on Winter Passing starring opposite Ed Harris and Will Ferrell this October.

Mary Steenburgen (Emily)
Mary Steenburgen is an Academy Award® winning actress for Melvin and Howard, and was last seen in Hope Springs with Colin Firth and Heather Graham. Mary appeared in director John Sayles film, Sunshine State, and co-starred in his film Casa De Los Babys, due out in fall 2003. In 2001 she co-starred alongside Kevin Kline in Irwin Winkler’s Life as a House, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. She has constantly redefined herself through challenging roles in films such as Philadelphia, Parenthood and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.

In spring of 2002, Mary was seen starring with her husband, Ted Danson in a CBS television miniseries entitled Talking to Heaven. They had previously worked together in 1996 on the critically acclaimed NBC miniseries Gulliver’s Travels, and in the 1994 feature film Pontiac Moon.

Mary starred with Jon Voight and F. Murray Abraham in Robert Halmi’s Noah’s Ark for NBC, and was also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, for her role in About Sarah, a two- hour made for television movie for CBS in which she played a developmentally disabled adult.

Other films that encompass Mary’s career include: The Grass Harp, with Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon and Piper Laurie, as well as Wish You Were Dead, Nobody’s Baby, Back to the Future III, Time After Time, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, Cross Creek, One Magic Christmas, Dead of Winter and End of the Line, in which she also served as the film’s executive producer.

Steenburgen’s career on the stage has continued to flourish, starring in The Beginning of August, Holiday, George Bernard Shaw’s production of Candida at New York’s Roundabout Theater and most recently in Marvin’s Room at the Tiffany Theater in Los Angeles.

In addition to her professional work, Mary has devoted a great deal of time to causes close to her heart. In 1989 she and fellow actress, Alfre Woodard founded Artists for a Free South Africa, and in 1996 Mary and Ted were presented with Liberty Hill Foundation’s prestigious Upton Sinclair Award for their work in human rights and environmental causes. In 1998, Mary became involved in Elizabeth Glaser’s Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and was honored to accept the role of National Spokesperson for the organization.

Mary is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, the daughter of a railroad conductor and a public high school secretary. She began her career at the age of nineteen in New York. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

Edward Asner (Santa Claus)
Edward Asner is best known for his comedic and dramatic crossover as the gruff but soft-hearted journalist Lou Grant, the role he originated on the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” and continued in the newspaper-set drama “Lou Grant”, which earned him five Emmys and three Golden Globe Awards.

Asner has more than 100 television credits, which include starring in the series “Off the Block”, “The Bronx Zoo”, and “Thunder Alley.” Numerous guest appearances include recent roles in “Dharma & Greg”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, and “The Ellen Show.” Last season he appeared in three episodes of “E.R.” as well as HBO’s “Arliss.”

His dozens of motion pictures credits include They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!; Fort Apache, The Bronx; Daniel; JKK; The Bachelor; Missing Brendon and The Animal with Rob Schneider; and the Italian mini-series Giovanni XXIII, based on the life of Pope John XXIII.

Most recently Asner completed three TV movies, “The Man Who Saved Christmas”, “The King and Queen of Moonlight Bay” and "National Lampoon's Cousin Eddie's Vacation.”

Bob Newhart (Papa Elf)
Bob Newhart is best known for his highly successful televisions series, “The Bob Newhart Show,” which debuted in 1972 on CBS, marking the beginning of a six-year run. In 1982 he returned to CBS with “Newhart,” playing a New York, do-it-yourself book author turned Vermont innkeeper. Together “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Newhart” ran a total of 15 years.

He recently co-starred in MGM’s Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, the sequel to the highly successful Legally Blonde. His other feature film credits include his co-starring role in Paramount’s smash hit comedy, In and Out, for producer Scott Rudin and director Frank Oz, with Kevin Kline and Tom Selleck; Hell Is For Heroes with Steve McQueen; On A Clear Day You Can See Forever with Barbara Streisand; Catch 22 with Jon Voight; Little Miss Marker with Walter Matthau; Hot Millions with Peter Ustinov; Cold Turkey with Dick Van Dyke; Thursday’s Game with Gene Wilder; and First Family with Gilda Radner.

On television, Newhart appears this season on three episodes of the acclaimed NBC series, “E.R,” playing a doctor who is developing macular degeneration.

Newhart’s last television project was the Showtime film “The Sports Pages,” a dark comedy directed by Richard Benjamin that was an anthology of tales taken from the world of sports. Bob also starred opposite Kelsey Grammer in the tale “How Doc Waddems Finally Broke a 100.”

Daniel Tay (Michael)
Daniel Tay is an 11y.o. native New Yorker. After seeing every performance of his older brother, David, on Broadway, he realized he could memorize everyone's part, but decided he wanted one of his own, so he studied acting, voice, dance, and music. Now two years after being on the David Letterman Show, he is appearing as young Harvey Pekar in American Splendor (winner of 2003 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance). He will appear next on TV in a segment of the Jamie Kennedy Experiment.

Daniel is a great student, but loves both playing and talking sports. His summers, when not working, are spent in basketball camp being coached by some of his idols such as Walt "Clyde" Frazier, and Stephon Marbury. He hopes to attend a good college and do a movie with Michael Jordan.

Faizon Love (Manager)
Faizon Love was born in Newark, New Jersey. It was an English teacher who encouraged Love's comedic talents by promising him that if he behaved in class, he could have the last five minutes each day to perform. Performing in front of his peers prepared Love to work in local comedy clubs where he sharpened his routine before moving to New York after high school. At 19, Love was cast in an off-Broadway play entitled “Bitter Heart Midtown” at the Harlem National Black Theatre, a modern adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, within hisfirst year in NYC. His screen break came when director/actor Robert Townsend's assistant saw Love perform at a comedy club and recommended him for a role in The Meteor Man. When Townsend launched his sitcom The Parent 'Hood on The WB in 1995, Love was there in a recurring role for the first partial season, playing Townsend's childhood friend and neighbor “Wendell Wilcox”, a role he took as a regular from the fall of 1995 through the series end in 1998.

In 1995, he hit the big screen with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker in the comedy Friday. The following year, the actor teamed up with Martin Lawrence for the comedy A Thin Line Between Love and Hate. In 1997, he was featured in Townsend's B.A.P.S. as well as the action comedy Money Talks, which reunited him with Tucker. Love was directed by former co-star Ice Cube in his directorial debut The Players Club and starred opposite Brian Hooks in the action comedy 3 Strikes. Moving towards more mainstream fare, Love was featured in The Replacements opposite Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman and Made, opposite Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn.

Most recently, Faizon performed in a cameo role opposite Beyonce Knowles and Cuba Goodking, Jr. in The Fighting Temptations and starred opposite Val Kilmer, Josh Lucas, Dylan McDermott and Kate Bosworth in the Lionsgate Film, Wonderland. Soon to be released, Faizon stars opposite Ice Cube and Martin Henderson in Warner Brothers' film, Torque.
His stand-up comedy television credits include appearances on “Showtime at the Apollo”, A&E's “Evening at the Improv” and his comedy special for B.E.T. During the year, Love tours extensively on the national comedy
club circuit.