Adam McKay

Early life and education

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. When McKay was seven his parents divorced.

He attended Great Valley High School in Malvern, where he graduated in 1986. He then attended Penn State University for a year prior to transferring to Temple University, where he majored in English. McKay dropped out of Temple a semester-and-a-half before he was set to earn his bachelor's degree. He described it as "settling with an imaginary degree".

Career

McKay studied under Del Close at The Second City and then joined The Second City Touring Company. He performed in one revue as a member of the Second City e.t.c. company and filled in on the Mainstage in the 79th Review before moving fully to the Mainstage for Second City’s 80th revue, Piñata Full of Bees. The landmark show also featured Jon Glaser, Rachel Dratch, and Scott Adsit.

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.

''Saturday Night Live''

McKay originally auditioned for Saturday Night Live to be an onscreen performer, but did not make the cut. However, the scripts he submitted earned him a job as a writer in 1995. Within a year, McKay became head writer at age 28, a position he held until 1999. He also directed a number of short films for the show, including the original SNL Digital Shorts. 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. Though McKay was never an actual SNL cast member, he did make several on-camera appearances over the years and had a recurring role as an obnoxious audience member "Keith" who would often shout insults at the celebrity hosts during their opening monologue. Despite no longer being head writer, McKay would remain at SNL as a regular writer until 2001, where he would depart from the series, after six years. In his final two years of tenure at SNL, he requested and earned a credit as “Coordinator of Falconry”, an honorific credit.

Shortly after leaving SNL, 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 (2004), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Step Brothers (2008), and The Other Guys (2010), all of which he also directed, produced and made cameo appearances in as an actor. Ferrell and McKay co-produced the HBO series Eastbound & Down.

McKay was one of the writers for the film The Campaign (2012), and produced the film Daddy's Home (2015), the latter of which reunited The Other Guys stars Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, and was directed by Sean Anders. McKay also rewrote the script for the Marvel Studios feature film Ant-Man, directed by Peyton Reed; McKay had initially been in talks to direct the film following Edgar Wright's departure, but opted not to out of respect for Wright. McKay also worked with Reed, Paul Rudd, Gabriel Ferrari and Andrew Barrer on Ant-Man and the Wasp to flesh out the story. He has also expressed interest in helming a Silver Surfer movie for Marvel Studios.

Films and television

He produced the films Land of the Lost (2009), The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009), The Virginity Hit (2010), Casa de Mi Padre (2012), Bachelorette (2012), Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012), The Campaign (2012), Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013), Tammy (2014), Welcome to Me (2014), Get Hard (2015), Sleeping with Other People (2015), Daddy's Home (2015), and The Boss (2016). In addition to Eastbound & Down, McKay has produced the television series Big Lake and Succession, whose pilot he directed, and the miniseries The Spoils of Babylon, and The Chris Gethard Show.

In April 2019, McKay and Ferrell announced that they were separating as producing partners but would continue producing all projects currently in development or in production at Gary Sanchez Productions. It was later revealed the reason for the split was because McKay cast John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss on the show Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, a role that Ferrell had coveted, without informing him.

Hyperobject Industries

In 2019, 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. Hyperobject Industries' first television project was an HBO pilot based on Jeff Pearlman's non-fiction book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s. McKay directed the pilot. More recently, McKay's Hyperobject Industries has a first look deal with Apple.

Directing

McKay has directed, and co-written with Will Ferrell, the films Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Step Brothers (2008), The Other Guys (2010), and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013). He has directed an "alternate film" about Ron Burgundy that is considered a companion to Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) entitled Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie (2004), which is made up mostly of alternative takes, deleted scenes, and scrapped sub-plots from the original film strung together with a narrative.

McKay directed and co-wrote with Ferrell the George W. Bush Broadway show You're Welcome America. He produced the horror-action film Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.

McKay directed the TV movie documentary Lifecasters (2013). He 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. Among the other short films he has directed include The Procedure (2007) starring Will Ferrell, Willem Dafoe, and Andy Richter, Green Team (2008) starring Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and himself, and the K-Swiss commercial, Kenny Powers: The K-Swiss MFCEO (2011), starring Danny McBride as Kenny Powers from Eastbound & Down, which he co-produces with Ferrell and has also directed an episode of.

He directed and wrote the film adaptation of the Michael Lewis non-fiction book The Big Short, about the 2008 financial crisis, and the build-up of the financial and credit bubble. The film opened in limited release on December 11, 2015, expanded to wide release on December 23, 2015; the film starred Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Steve Carell. He 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 2016, he and co-writer Charles Randolph received the USC Scripter Award for their screenplay.

In 2016, he became attached to the superhero film Irredeemable based on the comic of the same name by Mark Waid. In November 2016, McKay began development of the biographical black comedy Backseat, about former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and his rise to power, though the title was eventually changed to Vice. Starring Christian Bale as Cheney, the film was released in the United States on December 25, 2018, by Annapurna Pictures. Despite polarized reviews, Vice received eight nominations at the 91st Academy Awards, including the Best Picture and McKay's second nomination for Best Director, and won for Best Make-Up and Hairstyling.

In 2020, 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. McKay wrote the script and produced the film for Netflix. Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Rob Morgan, Tyler Perry, Meryl Streep, and Cate Blanchett star in the film. It received a limited theatrical release in December 2021, before streaming on Netflix later in the month. The film received four nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

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. Originally set to be produced by Legendary Pictures and released by Universal Pictures, in December 2021, the project was picked up by Apple Studios.Multiple sources:

• In November 2022, however, Lawrence left the project due to not wanting to copy Amanda Seyfried's performance in The Dropout. The current status of the project is unknown.

In March 2023, it was revealed that McKay's next project would be titled Average Height, Average Build, a political satire focused on a serial killer. The film was set to star Robert Pattinson, Amy Adams, Robert Downey Jr., Forest Whitaker, and Danielle Deadwyler. On April 30, 2023, it was announced the project had been acquired by Netflix. On December 4, 2023, it was announced that McKay had left the project to pursue a film on climate change, and the project was subsequently scrapped.

Funny or Die

Main article: Funny or Die

In 2007, McKay and Ferrell launched the user-submitted comedy video site Funny or Die. A video on the site, titled The Landlord, features both him and his young daughter, Pearl, whom Ferrell and his wife bait to say curse words. Pearl also starred in a second video titled Good Cop, Baby Cop.

Podcasting

From November 2015 until October 2016, McKay hosted the science/comedy podcast Surprisingly Awesome with Adam Davidson, produced by Gimlet Media. McKay additionally produced Broken: Jeffrey Epstein and Broken: Seeking Justice, a podcast series that explored the Jeffrey Epstein case. His next podcast project, Death at the Wing, investigated a series of deaths among high-profile young basketball players in the 1980s and 1990s. In February 2022, he appeared as a guest on Smartless, a comedic podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes. In 2023, he hosted Death on the Lot about celebrity deaths in Hollywood in the 1950s.

Political views

McKay supports gun control and abortion rights. He has been critical of former President Bill Clinton. "I legitimately think Bill Clinton is one of the worst presidents in the modern age". McKay criticized Clinton for deregulating banks and for his personal life in light of the MeToo movement. McKay serves on the Creative Council of RepresentUs, a nonpartisan anti-corruption organization. He was a supporter of the Democratic Party and endorsed Bernie Sanders for President of the United States in 2016 and again in 2020. He identifies as a democratic socialist and joined the Democratic Socialists of America in 2019. 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. "I regret not giving more blame to the Democrats, who went along with the war in Iraq...I made mistakes, read the reviews and went, 'Yes, fair,'" he told Variety in March 2022.

In October 2023, McKay signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter to US president Joe Biden, calling for a ceasefire of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. In September 2025, he signed an open pledge with Film Workers for Palestine pledging not to work with Israeli film institutions "that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people."

On November 6, 2024, after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, McKay announced that he would be leaving the Democratic Party, writing on X: "It is time to abandon the Dem Party. I'm registering Green Party or Working Families. But am open to ideas."

In August 2025, McKay was one of more than 2,300 members of the Writers Guild of America who signed an open letter decrying the actions of Donald Trump's administration, specifically calling out his "unprecedented, authoritarian assault" on free speech.

Activism

McKay is a prominent voice for climate action. In 2022, he donated $4 million to the Climate Emergency Fund and joined its board of directors. He has also donated to Just Stop Oil.

In 2023, McKay founded Yellow Dot Studios to raise awareness and mobilize action on the climate emergency. The non-profit company produces videos and campaigns to tackle the misinformation promoted by the oil industry.

He 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 also spoken in support of disruptive climate activism.

Personal life

In 1999, he married Shira Piven, a film and television director. They have two daughters. His brother-in-law is actor Jeremy Piven.

Health

At age 26, McKay first noticed shaking in his hands while performing with Second City. Around 2000, he was diagnosed with essential tremor. The condition causes his body and voice to quiver. He conducts print interviews lying down and televised ones in a special high backed chair to accommodate his disability.

In 2018, McKay had a heart attack while filming Vice, starring Christian Bale, whose character Dick Cheney has multiple heart attacks in the film. McKay credits his awareness of the issue from researching the film with his quick response that got him to the hospital before he incurred any permanent damage. During an interview on the 347th episode of The Empire Film Podcast, McKay said: "Either Christian Bale or Dick Cheney just saved my life."

Filmography

Film

;Acting roles

Television

Executive producer only

Acting roles

Web

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Adam McKay

Directed Academy Award performances

Under McKay's direction, these actors have received Academy Award nominations for their performances in their respective roles.

References

References

1. White, Abbey. (2019-01-31). "WGA Awards: Adam McKay to Receive Paul Selvin Award".
2. McNary, Dave. (2016-02-29). "Oscars: 'The Big Short's' Adam McKay Blasts Candidates Taking Money From Banks".
3. "Adapted Screenplay - The Big Short".
4. (December 2, 2020). "Welcome home: Adam McKay, director of Netflix's 'Don't Look Up,' grew up in Worcester".
5. (February 26, 2016). "How Adam McKay went from Temple dropout to Oscar nominee".
6. (2010-07-30). "Men in Blue, Under Arrested Adolescence (Published 2010)".
7. "'The Other Guys' mothers take over in special Mom-entary".
8. Maehrer, Avery. (December 12, 2013). "''Anchorman'' director Adam McKay reflects on Philly past". The Temple News.
9. "Adam McKay - The Second City".
10. (29 November 2018). "Why the Director of 'Anchorman' Decided to Take On Dick Cheney". The New York Times.
11. (24 April 2015). "Will Ferrell - Staying Classy: The Biography". Kings Road Publishing.
12. (2016). "Tina Fey: Queen of Comedy". Greenhaven Publishing, LLC.
13. "Adam McKay {{!}} Producer, Writer, Director".
14. Late Night with Seth Meyers. (2021-04-23). "Adam McKay Got Lorne Michaels to Make Him SNL's Falcon Coordinator".
15. Hotz, Amy. (October 21, 2008). "StarNewsOnline.com". StarNewsOnline.com.
16. (19 October 2014). "Adam McKay Reveals the Changes He Made to 'Ant-Man' Script". The Hollywood Reporter.
17. Oldham, Stuart. (May 31, 2014). "'Ant-Man': Adam McKay No Longer In Talks To Replace Director Edgar Wright". [[Penske Media Corporation]].
18. Perry, Spencer. (April 12, 2016). "Peyton Reed: ''Ant-Man and the Wasp'' Will Feature Things 'Never Seen in a Movie Before'". ComingSoon.
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20. McNary, Dave. (2019-04-06). "Will Ferrell, Adam McKay to End Production Partnership".
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22. (6 December 2019). "Adam McKay's L.A. Lakers Project Gets Series Order At HBO". Deadline.
23. (8 November 2019). "Adam McKay and Hyperobject Industries Sign First Look Deal With Paramount". The Wrap.
24. Jr, Mike Fleming. (2021-07-15). "Apple Sets Adam McKay’s Hyperobject Industries In Multi-Year First Look Movie Deal".
25. Miska, Brad. (2010-05-04). "‘Twilight’ Stars Offered Roles in ‘Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters’".
26. (17 December 2015). "Learning Finance via The Big Short". The Atlantic.
27. Jr, Mike Fleming. (2016-05-05). "20th Century Fox Taps BOOM! Superhero Tale ‘Irredeemable’; Adam McKay Helms, Tommy Wirkola Scripting".
28. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (November 22, 2016). "Adam McKay To Direct Dick Cheney Movie At Paramount".
29. Nickolai, Nate. (2018-12-17). "‘Vice’ Reviews: What the Critics Are Saying".
30. France, Lisa Respers. (January 22, 2019). "Oscars 2019: See who's nominated". [[CNN]].
31. Kit, Borys. (2020-02-19). "Jennifer Lawrence to Star in Adam McKay Comedy ‘Don’t Look Up’".
32. Kroll, Justin. (2020-05-11). "Cate Blanchett Joins James Gray, Adam McKay’s Next Films (EXCLUSIVE)".
33. Kroll, Justin. (October 14, 2020). "Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Timothée Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Cate Blanchett, Others Join Jennifer Lawrence In Netflix's 'Don't Look Up' For Adam McKay". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
34. Brockington, Ariana. (August 23, 2021). "Netflix Reveals Premiere Dates for Adam McKay's 'Don't Look Up,' Sandra Bullock Starrer 'The Unforgivable,' More Fall Movies".
35. (June 21, 2016). "'Bad Blood' Bids Mobilize for Jennifer Lawrence-Adam McKay Package: 9 Offers". Deadline.
36. White, Abbey. (November 2, 2022). "Jennifer Lawrence Says She Has Departed Adam McKay's 'Bad Blood'".
37. Kroll, Justin. (March 24, 2023). "Hot Package: Adam McKay Lines Up Robert Pattinson, Amy Adams, Robert Downey Jr, Forest Whitaker & Danielle Deadwyler For Serial Killer Comedy 'Average Height, Average Build'".
38. Kroll, Justin. (April 30, 2023). "Netflix Lands Adam McKay's New Comedy 'Average Height, Average Build'".
39. Peralta, Diego. (2023-12-04). "Adam McKay's 'Average Height, Average Build' Scrapped at Netflix".
40. "Funny or Die Videos - The Landlord - Added by Will Ferrell".
41. "» New Podcast: Surprisingly Awesome".
42. Sisario, Ben. (2019-09-04). "A Podcast From Adam McKay Examines Jeffrey Epstein and His World (Published 2019)".
43. (16 September 2020). "What We're Going Through Is Incomprehensible. That's Never Stopped Adam McKay.". Esquire.
44. Jr, Mike Fleming. (2021-03-31). "Adam McKay Hosts Docu Podcast Series ‘Death At The Wing,’ On Deaths Of Rising Hoop Stars Intertwined With Reagan Era Policies".
45. (18 May 2023). "Adam McKay Launches 'Death on the Lot' Podcast Exploring 1950s Dead Celebrities". indiewire.com.
46. (2022-06-13). "Hollywood stars signs pledge to control on-screen gun violence {{!}} New York Post".
47. Dellatto, Marisa. "Over 400 TV Writers And Showrunners Demand Abortion Protections From Major Studios, Report Says". Forbes.
48. Birnbaum, Emily. (2018-11-19). "'Vice' director Adam McKay torches Bill Clinton, would choose Trump over Bush".
49. Johnson, Ted. (2015-09-18). "Will Ferrell Among Celebrity Supporters of Bernie Sanders".
50. "Artists and Cultural Leaders for Bernie Sanders". Bernie Sanders.
51. McKay, Adam. (February 19, 2019). "Join me in volunteering to help @BernieSanders secure the democratic nomination & become president. You don't have to give $, sweat is worth more. You'll have fun winning #MedicareForAll & stopping capitalist wars. Sign up".
52. (November 3, 2017}}{{Primary source inline). "I consider myself a Democratic socialist. Always have.".
53. Mandanda, Steve. (2023-10-29). "S8".
54. Sharf, Zack. (2022-03-27). "Adam McKay Shares ‘Vice’ Regret: ‘I F—ed Up’ by Not Blaming Democrats for Going Along With Iraq War".
55. "Film Workers for Palestine".
56. Shafer, Ellise. (2024-11-06). "Adam McKay Says ‘It Is Time to Abandon’ the Democratic Party as Trump Declares Victory: ‘I Thought Liberals’ Whole Thing Is Being Smart? It’s Not’".
57. Horton, Adrian. (2025-08-05). "Spike Lee, Adam McKay and over 2,000 writers decry Trump’s ‘un-American’ actions in open letter". The Guardian.
58. "Who is Just Stop Oil, the group that threw soup on Van Gogh's painting?". NPR.org.
59. Media, P. A.. (2023-06-02). "Don’t Look Up director Adam McKay to triple donations to Just Stop Oil". The Guardian.
60. Riley, Jenelle. (2023-05-19). "Yellow Dot Studios’ Staci Roberts-Steele Believes Comedy Can Save Our Planet".
61. Noor, Dharna. (2024-03-09). "Film studio from Oscar-winning director aims to stir up ‘populist anger’ over climate crisis". The Guardian.
62. (9 May 2023). "Adam McKay launches nonprofit climate content studio Yellow Dot with debut video 'Commercial for Big Money' - Watch". Deadline.
63. Tingley, Anna. (2024-01-26). "Adam McKay and Rainn Wilson Release ‘Game of Thrones’ Parody Video for #ImWithScience Campaign".
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65. (2023-06-06). "‘Don’t Look Up’ director’s plan to win climate information war - with memes".
66. Spangler, Todd. (30 September 2022). "Adam McKay's scathing fake Chevron ad blasting its role in climate change goes viral". Variety.
67. Madarang, Charisma. (2024-03-16). "Adam McKay Explains His Made-You-Look Take on Climate Activism".
68. Vlessing, Etan. (11 January 2024). "Adam McKay to produce IMAX Climate Crisis doc 'Stormbound'". The Hollywood Reporter.
69. "Don't Look Up director Adam McKay on choosing humour to tackle leaders' climate inaction".
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71. (4 December 2021). "'Don't Look Up' director Adam McKay talks comets, climate change and total disaster". Space.com.
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73. (2023-05-30). "Adam McKay: 1.5C Is Terrifying But There Is Something We Haven’t Tried".
74. "Adam McKay Facts {{!}} Britannica". Encyclopedia Britannica.
75. (September 2016). "Telling the Storyteller's Tale".
76. Hagan, Joe. (2021-11-29). ""Who the Fuck Cares About Adam McKay?" (We Do, and With Good Reason)".
77. Kilpatrick, Connor. (2019-11-26). "Adam McKay Is Mad as Hell".
78. Sharf, Zack. (2018-11-29). "Adam McKay Had a Heart Attack and His 'Vice' Star Christian Bale Saved His Life".
79. (19 Jan 2019). "#347 - Adam McKay".
80. Grobar, Matt. (2024-01-08). "Oscar-Shortlisted Animated Short 'Wild Summon' Adds Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, Guy Nattiv & Jaime Ray Newman As EPs".
81. (January 6, 2016). "Adam McKay: Funny, with a Chance of Politics".