Will Arnett… tall, tan, foreign, and mysterious. He played everyone’s favorite failed magician as G.O.B. Bluth on Arrested Development. He has danced, sang, rapped, and cried on national television. His signature deep voice thrills and creeps fans out, depending on what he’s saying. But who IS Will Arnett? Is he a genius, a madman, or just a lost alien poet waiting to be rescued and taken back to his home planet... or Canada?
Whether he’s BoJack Horseman or another animated animal, Will Arnett is pretty much always Will Arnett, but with a kind of surrealism only he can conjure. His persona is so big that his hair can barely contain his big thinking brain of comedy. Is it true that he fell into a vat of nuclear waste when he was 16 and came out with that voice? Probably not, but it’s a good story anyway.
Arnett is aware of his many talents and heavy is the head that wears the freakishly heavy comedy crown. “People say I move like a dancer. I get that all the time. There comes a point in your career where you have to give in to the chorus of fans saying, ‘We see the way you move. You’re like a cat. Please, share your gifts with the world.’ Eventually, you just give the people what they want.” *Slow clap.*
He’s calm and friendly when asked to perform the Chicken Dance, is upset that he can’t have a Segway, and can’t keep a straight face when an interviewer wears a CGI suit during an interview. Will Arnett is not made of steel but he is made of the best comic instincts. He’s also full of poutine. Probably.
Will Arnett’s career is white hot, for now, and although he hasn’t eclipsed Will Ferrell yet, he says that he will not hesitate to step over Ferrell’s limp body when his time comes. Sure, the world shattered when he and Amy Poehler divorced, but maybe in becoming a huge, Ferrell-burying, stratosphere-gobbling movie star, he’ll find what life is all about. And hopefully his redemption will come in the form of a spoken word double album.
If you’re curious about the man, the myth, and the forehead of Will Arnett, this list is as valuable as the money in the banana stand.
http://www.ranker.com/list/will-arnett-facts/lisa-waugh, videos, behind the scenes, other,
He Speaks Fluent French
Which, for some reason, is funny in and of itself. When called upon to speak French, Arnett promises it would weird and underwhelming. “I know nothing that would impress you. The best French-Canadian swearwords are ‘tabernack,’ which means tabernacle, and ‘câlisse,’ which is chalice. All the French-Canadian swears are based on religious artifacts. It’s like the worst thing you can say. ‘Oh, câlisse!’ See, I told you it wasn’t that impressive. French cursing is hilarious. Eventually they just defer to English. I don’t think there’s anything you could say in French that’d compete with ‘c*cks*cker.’"
Sources: WillArnett.org, Eric Spitznagel
He Always Wanted a Segway, but Now He Can’t Have One
Arnett says that he never really took on Gobisms as a real life thing, although he was asked to do the Chicken Dance on a regular basis. But he did have a hankering for the Segway. “I’ve never been tempted by the Gob-isms in my personal life. Except for the Segway. Remember that electric scooter that Gob used to ride everywhere? I’d love to have one of those. Even before I got on the show, I wanted one. But I can’t get a Segway anymore because Arrested Development ruined it for me. If I had a Segway, people would say, ‘Hey, there’s that fucking loser from that TV show.’ It would look so dumb. I’d have to go to Europe to ride it. A Segway is a great way to see the sights. It really is.”
Source: Eric Spitznagel
He Thinks the Leading Man Role Is Boring
He prefers the role where he can steal scenes in the movie. “The problem with leading roles is that they’re boring. What I want is a leading man who’s still central but more of a goof. That doesn’t exist. But I’ll find it.”
Source: ShortList
Had a Crush on Amy Poehler in 1996
He went with his then-girlfriend to see Poehler at Upright Citizens Brigade. "[The then girlfriend] was like, ‘You have a crush on that girl!’ Amy did stick out. She was fantastic and obviously really cute.” Four years later they began dating after meeting through friends.
Source: Heavy.com
He Never Planned to Be a Comedian
He’s still young, so maybe Arnett could end up being known as a serious actor before it’s all over. But when he started out, he was totally going to be a serious actor. “I don’t have much experience doing improv or stand-up. I moved to New York and studied at the Strasberg Institute. I wanted to be a serious actor, a dramatic actor. I thought that doing sitcoms was beneath me. Of course, the reality eventually set in that I had to pay the fucking bills. But I always thought of myself as an actor first.”
Source: Eric Spitznagel
He’s Canadian, So Ice Skating is in the Blood
William Emerson Arnett was born in Toronto in 1970 and grew up playing hockey, as one does. He hung out at rinks, looking for pick up games. His Blades of Glory skills were real(ish). He even ended up shaving off the toe picks so he could skate better.
Sources: Biography, Eric Spitznagel
His Father Was the CEO of Molson Breweries in Canada
Arnett grew up relatively well off. One of the many reasons was because his dad was the CEO at Molson Breweries, the champagne of beers in Canada. There has to be a sitcom somewhere in this piece of information.
Source: TV Guide
He Got Caught Smoking a Lot When He Was at an All-Boys School
“I was constantly caught smoking. You had to chop wood if you got caught smoking, so I was always chopping wood. It was a very outdoorsy school." He was asked to leave the school when he was 16. His mother suggested that he channel his smoky energy into acting. Thanks, Mrs. Arnett!
Source: Biography
He’s an Intense Gamer
Since he had a voiceover in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, it’s no surprise that he’s totally into playing. He plays online against Rainn Wilson, Justin Theroux, Jerry O’Connell, and Peter Serafinowicz. “And I get aggressive. I get f*cking into it, man. When I say I play, I don’t just mean I play – it’s my social life. I play all the time.”
(His narration starts around 2:27.)
Source: ShortList
He Was in a Manwich Commercial When He Was a Teenager
In 1987, a teenaged Arnett appeared in a Manwich commercial and Jimmy Fallon dug it up. Arnett did three months work of method acting working with Sloppy Joes, he joked.
Source: @FallonTonight