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Will Ferrell is heading to 'The Office'

'Anchorman' star will appear in 4 episodes as a Dunder Mifflin top boss who causes trouble

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Image: Will Ferrell
Jordan Strauss  /  Getty Images
Will Ferrell is heading to "The Office" to play a top boss from Dunder Mifflin.
Access Hollywood
updated 1/26/2011 9:04:54 PM ET 2011-01-27T02:04:54

Scranton, Penn., is about to get “classy.”

Will Ferrell is heading to “The Office.”

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Laugh It Up With Hot Shots Of Will Ferrell!

The “Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgandy” star has signed on to guest star in a four-episode arc on the NBC series as a branch manager who arrives from the corporate home office, entering the fray and causing trouble.

(TODAYshow.com is a part of msnbc.com, which is a joint venture between NBC Universal and Microsoft.)

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“We found Steve Carell when he was nothing but a movie star and we turned him into a television star,” executive producer Paul Lieberstein said in a statement. “We are proud to continue ‘The Office’s’ tradition of discovering famous talent, and we hope that once America gets a good look at Will, they’ll see what we see: tremendous raw sexuality.”

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According to NBC, which confirmed the news, Ferrell’s character will be “just as inappropriate” as Michael Scott, the office manager played by the departing Carell, who will be leaving the show sometime before the end of the season.

It was unclear at press time if Ferrell’s visit to Scranton would tie in with Carell’s departure.

With Ferrell heading in as a boss from the top, could he possibly be tied into Carell’s exit and the search for a Michael Scott replacement?

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Of course, Ferrell and Carell have shared the screen before.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Primetime Hunks

Carell played Brick Tamland in the 2004 movie “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy,” alongside Ferrell’s title character. Brick was the dimwitted but loyal weatherman for San Diego’s KVWN news team in the fictional film.

“The Office” airs on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. on NBC.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Ladies Of Primetime Television

Copyright 2013 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Video: Will Ferrell gets an 'Office' job

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Photos: Will Ferrell’s wonderful world

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  1. Horsing around

    Will Ferrell tackles the open range and the Spanish language as a Mexican ranch heir in 2012's "Casa de Mi Padre." (John Estes / AP) Back to slideshow navigation

  2. All dressed up

    Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis goof around in a very serious way while presenting an award at the Academy Awards on Feb. 26, 2012, in Los Angeles. "As serious musicians, it is our pleasure to step out from our day jobs for a moment to present the Academy Award for best original song," Ferrell deadpans. (Mark J. Terrill / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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  3. Needs more cowbell

    Ferrell reigns as the King of Bacchus at the 2012 Krewe of Bacchus Parade on Feb. 19, 2012, in New Orleans. In addition to the traditional beads and coins, the actor also adds a veyr Ferrell-like touch by tossing mini cowbells. (Skip Bolen / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation

  4. On the mic

    Tacking another line on to his sports resume, Will Ferrell announces the starting lineups at the New Orleans Hornets/Chicago Bulls basketball game in New Orleans on Feb. 8, 2012, and poked fun at nearly all the players: "At guard, No. 1, his favorite movie is 'The Notebook' -- Derrick Rose!' he shouts. (Bill Haber / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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  5. Daddy time

    Will Ferrell spends time with son Mattias at the L.A. Lakers/Denver Nuggets basketball game on April 3, 2011. (Mark J. Terrill / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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  6. Getting a big head

    Will Ferrell voices the title character in 2010's "Megamind," playing a brainy alien who serves as a criminal mastermind behind evil doings in fictional Metro City. (DreamWorks Animation) Back to slideshow navigation
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  7. Dynamic duo

    Will Ferrell, right, stars with Mark Wahlberg in the 2010 comedy, "The Other Guys." The two play police detectives who look up to another cop duo, played by Samuel L. Jackson and The Rock. (Columbia Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation
  8. Related video ‘Land of the Lost’: June 5

    In prehistoric times

    Ferrell stars with Danny McBride and Anna Friel in the 2008 big-screen adaptation of the 1970s TV show, "Land of the Lost." Ferrell plays Dr. Rick Marshall, who, along with his team, gets sucked into an alternative prehistoric universe where dinosaurs reign and evil, but slow-moving Sleestaks are the biggest threat. (Universal Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation

  9. 'Step-Brothers'

    Ferrell teams up again with "Talladega Nights" co-star John C. Reilly, in "Step Brothers." Ferrell plays Brennan Huff, a sporadically employed 39-year-old who lives with his mother. Reilly plays Dale Doback, a terminally unemployed 40-year-old who lives with his father. When their respective parents marry and move in together, Brennan and Dale are forced to live with each other as step brothers. (Sony Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation
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  10. 'Semi-Pro'

    Ferrell stars as Jackie Moon, the owner-coach-player of the American Basketball Association's Flint Michigan Tropics in the 2007 comedy "Semi-Pro." (New Line Cinema) Back to slideshow navigation

  11. Iceman

    Will Ferrell (in orange jumpsuit) plays Chazz Michael Michaels, a former singles figure skater who is forced to pair up with Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) in order to get back on the ice in 2007's "Blades of Glory." (Dreamworks) Back to slideshow navigation
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  12. Speed racer

    Ferrell stars as NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby in 2006's "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." At one point, when he believes he's on fire, Ricky Bobby screams, "Help me, Jesus! Help me, Tom Cruise! Tom Cruise, use your witchcraft to get the fire off me!" (Columbia Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation

  13. Breaking into song

    In the 2004 movie version of the musical version of "The Producers," Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane reprise their Broadway roles of Leo Bloom and Max Bialystock, while Ferrell joins the fun as wacky Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind. Franz tells the boys, "I had nothing to do with the war! I didn't even know there was a war on. We lived in the back, right across from Switzerland. All we heard was yodelling... yoodle le he hoo." (Universal Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation

  14. Funeral crasher

    In Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson's 2004 film "Wedding Crashers," Farrell plays Chaz, a man who manages to top Wilson and Vaughn's method of finding single women at weddings, by crashing funerals. "Grief is nature's most powerful aphrodisiac," he tells Wilson. (New Line Cinema) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Time to twitch your nose, Sam

    Ferrell starred as Darrin Stephens with Nicole Kidman as his witch wife, Samantha, in the 2005 remake of the TV hit "Bewitched." (Columbia Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation

  16. You stay classy, San Diego

    In 2004's "Anchorman," Ferrell stars as Ron Burgundy, the top-rated anchorman in San Diego in the '70s. When feminism marches into the newsroom in the form of ambitious newswoman Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) it's more than a battle between two perfectly coiffed anchor-persons ... it's war. (Dreamworks Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation

  17. Show me your belly button

    Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller starred in the 2004 big-screen version of "Starsky & Hutch," but Ferrell managed to steal the show as Big Earl, a convict who's attracted to Hutch. When Big Earl convinces Hutch to show him his belly button, he marvels, saying, "It's like a little bowl of oatmeal with a hole in it. I got one too. I just got a little more brown sugar on mine." (Warner Bros.) Back to slideshow navigation
  18. Related slideshow Movies for the holidays

    Santa's helper

    Ferrell stars as Buddy, a full-grown man who was taken in by Santa's elves in 2003's "Elf." When he's sent off to have a normal life in the big city, he's astounded by the differences between the real world and Santa's village. When he sees a department store Santa, he tells him, "You sit on a throne of lies." (New Line Cinema) Back to slideshow navigation

  19. Frank the Tank

    Ferrell stars as one of three former college buddies (the others are Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn), now in their 30s, who start their own fraternity in 2003's "Old School." During a house party, a fellow partier asks him what he's going to do the next day, to which Ferrell replies: "Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond." (Dreamworks Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation
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    'What is your favorite sound?'

    Ferrell as effusive host James Lipton of "Inside The Actors' Studio" with guest Billy Bob Thornton as himself on "SNL." The real James Lipton was so taken with Ferrell's impression that he had Ferrell (as Lipton) interview him on his own show. (NBC) Back to slideshow navigation
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    It's about 'strategery'

    Ferrell took on President George W. Bush with a searing impression on "SNL" that emphasized the president's tendency toward malapropisms. (NBC) Back to slideshow navigation

  22. Fashion plate

    In 2000's "Zoolander" Ferrell plays Mogatu, a fashion designer who creates the Derelicte line. He explains his line this way, "It is a fashion, a way of life inspired by the very homeless, the vagrants, the crack whores that make this wonderful city so unique." (Paramount) Back to slideshow navigation

  23. More cowbell!

    This "Saturday Night Live" skit is a "rare tape" of Blue Oyster Cult recording their classic "Don't Fear the Reaper" with an added dose of cowbell. Band members are played by Chris Kattan, Jimmy Fallon and Chris Parnell, while Ferrell plays the enthusiastic cowbell expert. (NBC) Back to slideshow navigation

  24. What is love?

    Ferrell and Chris Kattan starred in 1998's "Night at the Roxbury," a film based on the "Saturday Night Live" skit about two annoying brothers who constantly bob their heads in unison to the Haddaway song, "What Is Love?" Roger Ebert wrote of the film, "It is incompetent, stupid, and horrible beyond belief." (Paramount Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation

  25. Not quite ready for prime time

    Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer played quirky singers and music teachers Marty Culp and Bobbi Mohan-Culp in a recurring skit on "Saturday Night Live." (NBC) Back to slideshow navigation

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