Adam McKay(I)

Producer
Writer
Director

From 'Anchorman' to 'Don't Look Up,' here's a look at some of our favorite moments from the films of Adam McKay. Which film is your favorite?

Play clip1:30

Adam McKay | Director Supercut

Adam McKay (born April 17, 1968) is an American screenwriter, director, comedian, and actor. McKay has a comedy partnership with Will Ferrell, with whom he co-wrote the films Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and The Other Guys. Ferrell and McKay also founded their comedy website Funny or Die through their production company Gary Sanchez Productions. He has been married to Shira Piven since 1999. They have two children.

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Won 1 Oscar
- 43 wins & 98 nominations total

Photos69

Adam McKay in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

Judd Apatow and Adam McKay in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Adam McKay, and Paul Rudd in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

John C. Reilly, Will Ferrell, and Adam McKay in Step Brothers (2008)

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

Christian Bale and Adam McKay in Vice (2018)

Known for

Leonardo DiCaprio, Ron Perlman, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Jonah Hill, Rob Morgan, Jennifer Lawrence, Timothée Chalamet, Kid Cudi, and Ariana Grande in Don't Look Up (2021)

Don't Look Up

7.2

Producer(produced by, p.g.a.)

2021

The Other Guys

6.6

Producer

2010

Vice

7.2

Producer(produced by, p.g.a.)

2018

The Big Short

7.8

Writer

2015

Credits

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IMDbPro

Producer

More Flames
- executive producer
- Completed
- Short
- 2024
The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
- producer
- In Development
Untitled eSports Project
- producer
- Pre-production
Bad Blood
- producer
- Pre-production
Crook County
- executive producer
- Pre-production
Go Deep
- executive producer
- Pre-production
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2
- producer
- In Development
Average Height, Average Build
- producer
- Pre-production
You Need This
- producer
- Post-production
Big Swiss
- producer
- Pre-production
- TV Series

Daniel
7.6
- producer
- 2023
Cobell Energy
8.1
TV Series
- executive producer
- 2023
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty
8.3
TV Series
- executive producer
- 2022–2023
BS High
7.2
- executive producer
- 2023
Asog
7.1
- executive producer
- 2023
Wild Summon
6.6
Short
- executive producer
- 2023
Succession
8.8
TV Series
- executive producer
- 2018–2023
Dead to Me
7.9
TV Series
- executive producer
- 2019–2022
The Menu
7.2
- producer (produced by, p.g.a.)
- 2022
Motherland: Fort Salem
7.3
TV Series
- executive producer
- 2020–2022
The Holly
6.1
- executive producer
- 2022
Game Theory with Bomani Jones
5.9
TV Series
- executive producer
- 2022–2023
The Invisible Pilot
6.3
TV Mini Series
- executive producer
- 2022
Fresh
6.7
- producer (produced by, p.g.a.)
- 2022
Don't Look Up
7.2
- producer (produced by, p.g.a.)
- 2021

Writer

Don't Look Up
7.2
- screenplay by
- story by
- 2021
Vice: Deleted Scenes
7.0
Video
- written by (segment High School)
- 2019
Vice
7.2
- written by
- 2018
The President's Sun
4.8
Short
- Writer
- 2017
The Big Short
7.8
- screenplay by
- 2015
Mexican Donald Trump
4.0
Short
- Writer
- 2015
Ant-Man
7.2
- screenplay by
- 2015
Coheed and Cambria Sing Justice Scalia's Dissenting Opinions
Short
- concept
- 2015
Get Hard
6.0
- story
- 2015
We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss
6.1
- written by (segment The Unbelievably Sweet Alpacas)
- 2014
Cops: Ferguson
3.0
Short
- Writer
- 2014
Saturday Night Live: Best of This Season
4.4
TV Special
- additional sketches
- 2014
Saturday Night Live
8.0
TV Series
- additional sketches
- additional sketch
- written by ...
- 1995–2013
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
6.3
- characters
- written by
- 2013
The Campaign
6.1
- story
- 2012

Director

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty
8.3
TV Series
- Director
- 2022
Don't Look Up
7.2
- Director
- 2021
Vice: Deleted Scenes
7.0
Video
- Director (segment High School)
- 2019
Vice
7.2
- Director
- 2018
Succession
8.8
TV Series
- Director
- 2018
The Big Short
7.8
- Director
- 2015
We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss
6.1
- Director (segment The Unbelievably Sweet Alpacas!)
- 2014
SNL Shorts
7.9
TV Movie
- Director (clips)
- 2014
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
6.3
- Director
- 2013
Lifecasters
3.5
TV Movie
- Director
- 2013
Kenny Powers: The K-Swiss MFCEO
7.6
Short
- Director
- 2011
The Other Guys
6.6
- Director
- 2010
Eastbound & Down
8.2
TV Series
- Director
- 2009
Green Team
7.0
Video
- Director
- 2008
Step Brothers
6.9
- Director
- 2008

In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos9

Clip 1:30

Adam McKay | Director Supercut

Clip 4:37

How the Best Racing Films Raise the Stakes

Clip 3:44

'Vice' Continues Adam McKay's G.W. Bush Parody

Clip 2:49

'Vice' Stars Shed Light on the Enigma That Is Dick Cheney

Interview 2:17

Oscar-Winning Screenwriter Adam McKay on His Writing Process

Interview 0:47

The Other Guys

Trailer 2:29

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Trailer 2:31

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Video 4:32

Adam McKay on Christian Bale & Amy Adams Becoming the Cheneys

Personal details

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Alternative names
- Funny or Die
Height
- 6′ 5″ (1.96 m)
Born
- April 17, 1968
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Spouse
- Shira Piven1999 - present (2 children)
Parents
- Sarah Imperato
Other works
A 1995 sketch he performed with Scott Adsit, "Gump", is included as one of Second City's all-time best on the CDs that come with the book, "Second City", by Sheldon Patinkin.
Publicity listings

Did you know

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Trivia
Although his work at Saturday Night Live (1975) was mainly as a writer and director, he made several appearances on the show, usually as an oversized, obnoxious audience member who heckles the host or cast members until the stars verbally or physically attack him. McKay had auditioned for Saturday Night Live (1975) as an actor while he was still with the Second City Improv, but didn't make the cut as on-camera talent. But he had submitted four scripts to the show, which got him hired as a writer.

Quotes
Sequels are desperate. We're cooler than that. We kind of thought, 'Wait a minute. If we do a sequel, we'll have enough cred from the first movie that we could do crazy-ass shit. We won't have to establish new characters and story and jump right into what we want to do.' The second part was, 'Can we make a good sequel?' There are a lot of flat comedy sequels...'Can we make a sequel that doesn't suck?'