Actor: Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell came from Saturday Night Live and built a film career on characters of enormous unearned confidence, in Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Step Brothers.

Elf is the most durable, and it works because he plays complete sincerity with no wink at all. Stranger Than Fiction shows the dramatic capacity. He co-founded Gary Sanchez Productions and Funny or Die, and the company financed a considerable amount of work by other people.