--- name: "Adam McKay" canonical: "https://film.one/person/adam-mckay" fi1m_id: "adam-mckay" imdb_id: "nm0570912" tmdb_id: 55710 wikidata_id: "Q350405" roles: ["Director","Producer","Writer"] born: "17 April 1968" reviewed_on_fi1m: 13 average_fi1m_score: 71 average_as: "director" average_over: 7 updated: "2026-10-13T21:47:59.233018+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Adam McKay ## Identity Adam McKay - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/adam-mckay - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** adam-mckay - **IMDb ID:** nm0570912 - **TMDB ID:** 55710 - **Wikidata ID:** Q350405 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_McKay, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q350405, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570912/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/55710 Director and producer. Born 17 April 1968 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Director, Producer, Writer - **Born:** 17 April 1968, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA - **Active:** 2004–present - **Also known as:** آدام مک‌کی - **Titles on Fi1m:** 13: 7 directing, 1 writing, 5 producing - **Frequently works with:** [Will Ferrell](https://film.one/person/will-ferrell.md), [Steve Carell](https://film.one/person/steve-carell.md), [Judd Apatow](https://film.one/person/judd-apatow.md), [Paul Rudd](https://film.one/person/paul-rudd.md), [Brad Pitt](https://film.one/person/brad-pitt.md), [Christian Bale](https://film.one/person/christian-bale.md), [Christina Applegate](https://film.one/person/christina-applegate.md), [David Koechner](https://film.one/person/david-koechner.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 6 nominated) - **Average Fi1m score:** 71, as director, over 7 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 78 (2), 2010s 62 (8), 2020s 68 (3) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 71 to 68 across 7 titles - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 2 under 60 - **Genres:** Comedy 7, Drama 5, History 1, Science Fiction 1, Sport 1 - **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $475m across 5 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_McKay, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q350405, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570912/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/55710 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*Succession*](https://film.one/tv/succession.md) (88), [*Eastbound & Down*](https://film.one/tv/eastbound-and-down.md) (78) - **Apple TV:** [*Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy*](https://film.one/film/anchorman-the-legend-of-ron-burgundy.md) (78), [*Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues*](https://film.one/film/anchorman-2-the-legend-continues.md) (58) - **Disney+:** [*The Menu*](https://film.one/film/the-menu.md) (72), [*Ant-Man*](https://film.one/film/ant-man.md) (67) - **Netflix:** [*Don't Look Up*](https://film.one/film/dont-look-up.md) (52), [*Holmes & Watson*](https://film.one/film/holmes-and-watson.md) (24) - **Pluto TV:** [*The Big Short*](https://film.one/film/the-big-short.md) (80) - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Vice*](https://film.one/film/vice.md) (61) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Adam McKay > Adam McKay knows how to give comic actors room, though he is less reliable at knowing when to move on. We prefer *Anchorman*’s indulgent silliness to the insistent explanations of his later satires. In *Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy* (2004), Will Ferrell's newsreader takes himself seriously, and McKay is happy to let him carry on. A female co-anchor's arrival in a 1970s newsroom gives the director and his co-writer Ferrell the makings of a workplace satire. They spend much of the film letting the men be ridiculous instead. We like the result, with reservations about how long some of the jokes are allowed to run. The partnership with Ferrell ran through a series of comedies from 2004 to 2013, before *The Big Short* (2015) marked a turn towards satirical drama. McKay's fourth-wall breaks, celebrity explainers and on-screen captions offer ways into difficult subjects such as finance. There is a useful ambition in making that material understandable. But *Vice* (2018) makes the explanatory devices too conspicuous, while *Don't Look Up* (2021) presses its satire too insistently. We prefer him when he allows the actors to do more of the explaining. In *Anchorman*, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and David Koechner suit his willingness to let a scene wander. They can justify the extra minute even when the story has stopped moving. We laughed at Carell's nonsense because he makes it sound so unremarkable. Christina Applegate gives the comedy useful resistance as Veronica Corningstone, remaining credible among men who scarcely resemble working adults. The writing gives her less freedom to be strange, though, and McKay puts more effort into giving the men something funny to do than developing the workplace satire. Editor Brent White has to find a shape for all this without removing the detours that make it funny. The joins show, and some scenes continue beyond their funniest line. McKay and Ferrell also return to male alarm at female competence after the joke has become predictable. We would happily lose some of that repetition without asking for a comedy that tidied away the cast's oddness. Start with *Anchorman* for McKay's handling of actors, provided a wandering plot is an acceptable price for an evening with this company. ## Biography Adam McKay is an American filmmaker, screenwriter and director. He served as head writer on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2001. After leaving SNL, McKay collaborated with comedian Will Ferrell on a series of comedy films, directing and co-writing Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Step Brothers (2008) and The Other Guys (2010). He directed the pilot episode of the HBO series Succession (2018). McKay later directed the satirical films The Big Short (2015), Vice (2018) and Don't Look Up (2021). He won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Big Short. In 2019 he founded the production company Hyperobject Industries. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (13) ### Directed (7) — the average rests on these - *Don't Look Up* (2021), Fi1m 52, Director, Producer, Screenplay, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/dont-look-up.md) - *Succession* (2018), Fi1m 88, Director, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/succession.md) - *Vice* (2018), Fi1m 61, Director, Writer, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/vice.md) - *The Big Short* (2015), Fi1m 80, Screenplay, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-big-short.md) - *Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues* (2013), Fi1m 58, Producer, Screenplay, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/anchorman-2-the-legend-continues.md) - *Eastbound & Down* (2009), Fi1m 78, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/eastbound-and-down.md) - *Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy* (2004), Fi1m 78, as Custodian — [page](https://film.one/film/anchorman-the-legend-of-ron-burgundy.md) ### Wrote (1) - *Ant-Man* (2015), Fi1m 67, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/ant-man.md) ### Produced (5) - *The Chair Company* (2025), Fi1m 80, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-chair-company.md) - *The Menu* (2022), Fi1m 72, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-menu.md) - *Booksmart* (2019), Fi1m 81, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/booksmart.md) - *Holmes & Watson* (2018), Fi1m 24, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/holmes-and-watson.md) - *Tammy* (2014), Fi1m 38, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/tammy.md) ## Complete filmography (102) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Go Deep: The DeSean Jackson Story* (2026), Executive Producer - *Thrash* (2026), Producer - *Stormbound* (2026), Producer - *Just Look Up* (2026), Executive Producer - *Trade Secret* (2025), Producer - *The Chair Company* (2025), series, Executive Producer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-chair-company.md) - *All the Empty Rooms* (2025), Executive Producer - *Asog* (2025), Executive Producer - *You Need This* (2025), Producer - *Union* (2024), Executive Producer - *Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery* (2024), Executive Producer - *Men of War* (2024), Executive Producer - *Pistachio Wars* (2024), Executive Producer - *Wild Wild Space* (2024), Producer - *Daniel* (2023), Producer - *Cobell Energy* (2023), series, Executive Producer - *BS High* (2023), Executive Producer - *Wild Summon* (2023), Executive Producer - *The Holly* (2023), Executive Producer - *A Lien* (2023), Executive Producer - *The Menu* (2022), Producer — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/the-menu.md) - *God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty* (2022), Executive Producer - *The Invisible Pilot* (2022), series, Executive Producer - *Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty* (2022), series, Director, Executive Producer - *Fresh* (2022), Producer - *Don't Look Up* (2021), Story, Screenplay, Director, Producer — Fi1m 52, [page](https://film.one/film/dont-look-up.md) - *Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar* (2021), Producer - *Q: Into the Storm* (2021), series, Executive Producer - *The Oxy Kingpins* (2021), Executive Producer - *537 Votes* (2020), Executive Producer - *Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga* (2020), Executive Producer - *Jonathan Scott’s Power Trip* (2020), Executive Producer - *Motherland: Fort Salem* (2020), series, Executive Producer - *Live in Front of a Studio Audience: "All in the Family" and "Good Times"* (2019), Executive Producer - *Hustlers* (2019), Producer - *Booksmart* (2019), Executive Producer — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/booksmart.md) - *Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons"* (2019), Executive Producer - *Newscasters* (2019), Thanks - *Dead to Me* (2019), series, Executive Producer - *Vice* (2018), Writer, Director, Producer — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/vice.md) - *Holmes & Watson* (2018), Producer — Fi1m 24, [page](https://film.one/film/holmes-and-watson.md) - *Succession* (2018), series, Executive Producer, Director — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/succession.md) - *Ibiza* (2018), Producer - *Oh Lucy!* (2018), Executive Producer - *LA to Vegas* (2018), series, Producer - *No Activity* (2017), series, Executive Producer - *Daddy's Home 2* (2017), Producer - *The House* (2017), Producer - *A.C. Green: Iron Virgin* (2016), as Producer · Executive Producer - *The Boss* (2016), Producer - *Grimsby* (2016), Executive Producer - *Daddy's Home* (2015), Screenplay, Producer - *The Big Short* (2015), Screenplay, Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/the-big-short.md) - *Ant-Man* (2015), Screenplay — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/film/ant-man.md) - *The Spoils Before Dying* (2015), series, Executive Producer - *Sleeping with Other People* (2015), Producer - *A Deadly Adoption* (2015), Executive Producer - *Welcome to Me* (2015), Producer - *Get Hard* (2015), Producer, Story - *Bad Judge* (2014), series, Executive Producer - *The Unbelievably Sweet Alpacas* (2014), Director, Writer - *Tammy* (2014), Producer — Fi1m 38, [page](https://film.one/film/tammy.md) - *Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues* (2013), Director, Screenplay, Producer — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/anchorman-2-the-legend-continues.md) - *Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters* (2013), Producer - *The Campaign* (2012), Producer, Story - *Bachelorette* (2012), Producer - *The Dictator* (2012), Executive Producer - *Casa de Mi Padre* (2012), Producer - *Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie* (2012), Producer - *Fully Loaded* (2011), Executive Producer - *The Virginity Hit* (2010), Producer - *Big Lake* (2010), series, Creator - *The Other Guys* (2010), as Dirty Mike · Director, Producer, Writer - *Presidential Reunion* (2010), Writer - *Funny or Die Presents* (2010), series, Producer, Creator - *Land of the Lost* (2009), Executive Producer - *The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard* (2009), Producer - *Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America - A Final Night with George W. Bush* (2009), Executive Producer, Stage Director - *Eastbound & Down* (2009), series, Director, Producer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/eastbound-and-down.md) - *Prop 8: The Musical* (2008), Producer - *Step Brothers* (2008), as Man without Glasses · Director, Executive Producer, Screenplay, Story - *Green Team* (2007), as Erin Gossamer · Director, Writer - *The Procedure* (2007), Director, Writer - *Good Cop, Baby Cop* (2007), as Policeman · Director, Writer - *The Landlord* (2007), as Friend · Producer, Writer, Director - *Girl Missing* (2007), as Detective "Sally" LaSalle - *Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby* (2006), as Terry Cheveaux · Director, Executive Producer, Writer - *Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie* (2004), as Custodian · Director, Writer - *Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy* (2004), as Custodian · Director, Writer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/anchorman-the-legend-of-ron-burgundy.md) - *Hotel Hotel Hotel Hotel*, Producer - *Plus One*, Producer - *Will*, Producer - *Kings of America*, series, Executive Producer, Director - *The Freshening*, Producer - *J6*, Producer - *Breeders*, Producer, Writer - *Flesh of the Gods*, Producer - *Monsanto*, Producer - *Five*, Producer - *First Ladies*, Producer - *Untitled Adam McKay/Michael Shanks Mystery Sci-Fi Comedy*, Director, Producer - *The Parlay*, Producer ## Gallery - ![Film director Adam McKay at the Berlinale 2019](https://film.one/media/person/734/gallery-8cb72ea23c00.jpg) Film director Adam McKay at the Berlinale 2019 — Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Adam_McCay-7790.jpg/1280px-Adam_McCay-7790.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Film director Adam McKay at the Berlinale 2019](https://film.one/media/person/734/gallery-125c7f79e566.jpg) Film director Adam McKay at the Berlinale 2019 — Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Adam_McKay-7784.jpg/1280px-Adam_McKay-7784.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Adam McKay](https://film.one/media/person/734/gallery-46d2c7e38f82.jpg) Adam McKay — Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Adam_McKay-7784_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Adam_McKay-7784_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Film director Adam McKay at the Berlinale 2019](https://film.one/media/person/734/gallery-072f49edc51f.jpg) Film director Adam McKay at the Berlinale 2019 — Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Adam_McKay-7785.jpg/1280px-Adam_McKay-7785.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Adam McKay](https://film.one/media/person/734/gallery-2c0ebb9d6fde.jpg) Adam McKay — Image via TMDB - ![Adam McKay](https://film.one/media/person/734/gallery-8e304512e54f.jpg) Adam McKay — Image via TMDB - ![Adam McKay](https://film.one/media/person/734/gallery-a9714ad8888a.jpg) Adam McKay — Image via TMDB - ![Film director Adam McKay at the Berlinale 2019](https://film.one/media/person/734/gallery-a77223880998.jpg) Film director Adam McKay at the Berlinale 2019 — Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Adam_McKay-7893.jpg/1280px-Adam_McKay-7893.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Adam McKay](https://film.one/media/person/734/gallery-4f7755248066.jpg) Adam McKay — Image via TMDB - ![Adam McKay](https://film.one/media/person/734/gallery-6cf16cd35a05.jpg) Adam McKay — Image via TMDB - ![Adam McKay](https://film.one/media/person/734/gallery-da1b0dd9ab30.jpg) Adam McKay — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 1 won, 6 nominated - 2022: Best Picture (nominated), for *Don't Look Up* - 2022: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Don't Look Up* - 2019: Best Picture (nominated), for *Vice* - 2019: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Vice* - 2019: Best Director (nominated), for *Vice* - 2016: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won), for *The Big Short* - 2016: Best Director (nominated), for *The Big Short* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/adam-mckay