Q+A Will Ferrell

The 37-year-old actor plays a soccer dad in the film Kicking & Screaming, which opens on May 13

SI: If your streaking scene in Old School is any indication, you always undergo intense physical training to prepare for a role. Did you do anything for this movie?

Ferrell: Luckily, there is really no regimen other than to just stand there and do multiple takes of getting hit by soccer balls. I guess I had to build up some toughness in that regard. I also developed whistle skills.

SI: You were a pretty serious soccer player growing up in Irvine, California. Assess your game for our readers.

Ferrell: I was akin to David Beckham. Starting, of course, in the looks department. But I was a midfielder who set people up, and no kidding, I even scored a couple of goals where I bent it around the wall.

SI: You're a big Angels fan. What should they be called?

Ferrell: I think they should be the Los Angeles Angels of Orange County located in the State of California. I don't know what the acronym for that would be, but it would look pretty cool.

SI: When you auditioned for Saturday Night Live, you did a Harry Caray impression. Why him?

Ferrell: Before I got Saturday Night Live, I had a job where I was able to go home for lunch a lot. Channel-surfing one day, I discovered WGN. Having grown up in California, I didn't know who Harry Caray was, but I was like, Who is this commentator for the Cubs? The events on the field were secondary to him describing how nice Bob and Betty Jo Patterson of Waukegan, Illinois, were. "[Impersonating Caray] I just want to say hello to Patterson Hardware. I bought a claw hammer there, and they're great people. By the way, ground ball hit to second and he's out." I would come home for lunch and try to catch the Cubs game and just enjoy that kind of randomness from him.

SI: You ran the 2003 Boston Marathon in 3:56:12. If this magazine sponsored it, would you run a match race against Oprah?

Ferrell: I would definitely consider it. But you must throw in P. Diddy as well.

SI: Your degree from USC is in sports information. How valuable has that been in Hollywood?

Ferrell: In the academic community it is extremely valuable because it doesn't exist anymore at USC--it's a collector's item. But in Hollywood there's really no value. --Richard Deitsch

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JEAN-PAUL AUSSENARD/WIREIMAGE.COM (FERRELL)

COLOR PHOTO

SUZANNE HANOVER/UNIVERSAL STUDIOS (FERRELL IN MOVIE)