40 Facts About Adam McKay

Adam McKay was born on April 17,1968 and is an American screenwriter, producer, and director.

Ferrell and Adam McKay later co-wrote and co-produced many television series and films, with Adam McKay himself co-producing their website Funny or Die through their company, Gary Sanchez Productions.

Adam McKay began venturing into more dramatic territory in the 2010s.

Adam McKay wrote and directed the satirical films The Big Short, Vice, and Don't Look Up.

Adam McKay won an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and a Critics' Choice Award for adapting the screenplay of The Big Short.

Adam McKay was born in Denver, Colorado, and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts and later Malvern, Pennsylvania by his mother, Sarah, a waitress, and his father, a musician.

Adam McKay attended Great Valley High School in Malvern, where he graduated in 1986.

Adam McKay then attended Penn State University for a year prior to transferring to Temple University, where he majored in English.

Adam McKay dropped out of Temple a semester-and-a-half before he was set to earn his bachelor's degree.

Adam McKay described it as "settling with an imaginary degree".

Adam McKay studied under Del Close at The Second City and then joined The Second City Touring Company.

Adam McKay is one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade improv comedy group and a former performer at Chicago's ImprovOlympic, where he was a member of the improv group, The Family, whose members included Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Neil Flynn, Miles Stroth, and Ali Farahnakian, as well as Child's Play Touring Theatre.

Adam McKay originally auditioned for Saturday Night Live to be an onscreen performer, but did not make the cut.

Adam McKay directed a number of short films for the show, including the original SNL Digital Shorts.

Adam McKay encouraged his Second City friend Tina Fey to submit some of her scripts to Saturday Night Live, and she later succeeded him as head writer.

Shortly after leaving SNL, Adam McKay teamed up with comedian Will Ferrell to form production company Gary Sanchez Productions and write the comedy films Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys, all of which he directed, produced and made cameo appearances in as an actor.

Adam McKay was one of the writers for the film The Campaign, and produced the film Daddy's Home, the latter of which reunited The Other Guys stars Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, and was directed by Sean Anders.

Adam McKay rewrote the script for the Marvel Studios feature film Ant-Man, directed by Peyton Reed; Adam McKay initially been in talks to direct the film following Edgar Wright's departure, but opted not to out of respect for Wright.

Adam McKay has expressed interest in helming a Silver Surfer movie for Marvel Studios.

In 2019, Adam McKay launched a new production company, Hyperobject Industries, which has a first look overall television deal with HBO and had a first-look feature deal at Paramount Pictures.

Adam McKay has directed, and co-written with Will Ferrell, the films Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

Adam McKay has directed an "alternate film" about Ron Burgundy that is considered a companion to Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy entitled Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie, which is made up mostly of alternative takes, deleted scenes, and scrapped sub-plots from the original film strung together with a narrative.

Adam McKay has directed a number of short films, including digital shorts for Saturday Night Live, and the short video "Good Cop, Baby Cop" for Funny or Die that stars his daughter Pearl.

Adam McKay received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work in the film, winning his first Academy Award in the latter category.

In 2020, Adam McKay began working on the satirical black comedy Don't Look Up, about two low level scientists trying to convince the world that a catastrophic comet is coming.

Adam McKay wrote the script and produced the film for Netflix.

Adam McKay was set to work with Jennifer Lawrence for the biographical film Bad Blood, about entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, and based on the book Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup.

On December 4,2023, it was announced that Adam McKay had left the project to pursue a film on climate change, and the project was scrapped.

Adam McKay additionally produced Broken: Jeffrey Epstein and Broken: Seeking Justice, a podcast series that explored the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Adam McKay has been critical of former President Bill Clinton.

Adam McKay criticized Clinton for deregulating banks and for his personal life in light of the MeToo movement.

Adam McKay serves on the Creative Council of RepresentUs, a nonpartisan anti-corruption organization.

Adam McKay was a supporter of the Democratic Party and endorsed Bernie Sanders for President of the United States in 2016 and again in 2020.

Adam McKay identifies as a democratic socialist and joined the Democratic Socialists of America in 2019.

Adam McKay was criticized for going soft on Democrats for their role in the Iraq War in his film Vice, which he later said was a mistake.

In October 2023, Adam McKay signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter to US president Joe Biden, calling for a ceasefire of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

In 2023, Adam McKay founded Yellow Dot Studios to raise awareness and mobilize action on the climate emergency.

Adam McKay has spoken prominently about his experience with climate anxiety and the importance of comedy and humor as tools in addressing the climate crisis, while he has spoken in support of disruptive climate activism.

At age 26, Adam McKay first noticed shaking in his hands while performing with Second City.

Adam McKay conducts print interviews lying down and televised ones in a special high backed chair to accommodate his disability.