Movie fans online have helped comedians such as Steve Carell, Sasha Baron Cohen and Seth Rogan achieve stardom by spreading positive word of mouth for their films. This year, those fans may help make Danny McBride the latest breakout comedy star.
McBride is a comedian who has previously appeared in the movies Hot Rod, Drillbit Taylor, and The Heartbreak Kid. But this summer McBride stands to break out to a wider audience, including Internet content producers, as comedy icons Will Ferrell and Judd Apatow take him under their wing.
McBride’s big summer kicks off with an independent comedy that’s already made fellow comics take notice, called The Foot Fist Way. In the film, McBride plays an crazed taekwondo instructor who goes on insane comic adventures. McBride helped make The Foot Fist Way with his own money and got it to play at Sundance in 2006. But the movie and McBride didn’t get noticed until Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Judd Apatow, Seth Rogan and other comics viewed it on the underground viral circuit. Ferrell and McKay used their production company, Gary Sanchez Productions, to get The Foot Fist Way released in indie theaters last weekend. Early positive reviews confirm that McBride’s awkward, cringe inducing antics may give him a bigger cult following.
If McBride is starting to become big now, he is projected to receive larger notice with supporting roles in two highly anticipated comedies this August. Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express are pegged to be two of the funniest films this year, with substantial expectations from movie fans. McBride has a supporting role in Tropic Thunder, while Apatow and Rogan created an even bigger part for him in Pineapple Express that will give him his widest exposure yet. If these movies deliver as many hope they will, McBride’s potentially scene stealing work in both films stand to give him a much bigger following, making him a new star to watch.
Participation in Ferrell and Apatow’s comedy universes has resulted in larger leading roles and online fandom for the likes of Rogan, Carell, Jonah Hill, John C. Reilly, Jason Segal and many others. By this time next year, McBride’s existing fan base and the new followers that he is sure to gain this summer can make him a big star among content producers interested in comedies. The Foot Fist Way, Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express could develop separate cult followings, with McBride standing to reap the benefits if his work becomes popular as well. Such breakout hits may give McBride enough buzz to rise up to the A list and become just as big in the future as those rising comedy stars before him.
Sources
Los Angeles Times- “Is Danny McBride the next comedy superstar?” www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-et-mcbride29-2008may29,0,2281289.story
MTV.com- “Will Ferrell, Danny McBride Answer Fans Questions About ‘The Foot Fist Way'” www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1588101/20080527/story.jhtml
Wikipedia- Danny R. McBride: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_R._McBride
SF Gate- “‘The Foot Fist Way’ star fits the season” www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi
