Meet Will Ferrell’s 3 Kids: All About Magnus’ Music Career & More
What To Know
- Will Ferrell and his wife Viveca Paulin have three sons: Magnus, Mattias, and Axel.
- They have recently gained more public attention, especially as Magnus pursues a music career.
- Magnus and Matthias supported their dad at the premiere of The Hawk.
Will Ferrell‘s golf comedy series The Hawk is currently dominating the Netflix charts. The premise? Ferrell’s aging professional golfer goes head-to-head with his son (Jimmy Tatro) in a Vegas tournament. It turns out Ferrell’s real-life sons, whom the 59-year-old shares with wife Viveca Paulin, are competitive, too.
Magnus and Mattias Ferrell were by their dad’s side at the Los Angeles premiere of The Hawk on July 9, giving a rare interview to E! News. Rather than golf, they joked about their dad’s basketball skills (or lack thereof, according to them). “By the time I was 8 years old, I could destroy him in a one-[on]-one,” Mattias said, with his brother backing him up.
They’ve joined their dad at numerous events over the years, but the public is starting to take notice of the actor’s sons even more lately, especially as Magnus makes a name for himself as a musician. Keep reading for everything we know about the rising star and the rest of Ferrell’s kids.
How many kids does Will Ferrell have?
Ferrell has three kids with Paulin, whom he married in 2000. They welcomed their first child, Magnus, in 2004. Mattias was born two years later, and their youngest, Axel, was born in 2010. (Fun fact: The whole family made a cameo in the Jonas Brothers holiday movie, A Very Jonas Christmas.)
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Magnus Ferrell
Magnus, who’s 22 years old in 2026, took a leave of absence from the University of Southern California — where he’s an acting major — to pursue his music career last year. While he switched gears, he told People in a 2025 interview that he was living with his parents again.
“I love my family so much,” he said. “That sounds so bad. I love hanging out with them, but I think that’s part of it. I get to live at home. I get to have home-cooked meals.”
Magnus played his first live music gig in December 2022. During Magnus’ San Diego show, his dad got up on stage to play the cowbell as a nod to his famous 2000 Saturday Night Live sketch, according to People.
Years later, Magnus told the outlet that telling his parents that he was leaving college was easier because he already had a record deal.
“They saw it [the deal] in writing and saw that it was kind of an official thing — it wasn’t just me being like, ‘Okay, I’m going to go and sit in my basement and make songs and hope something happens,” he said in 2025. “It was a material thing that I had interest in that I could really show them. And then they were like, ‘Oh, there’s a job offer.’ So it worked out.”
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Since his first single came out in 2024, Magnus has released several more — one of which was on the soundtrack of his dad’s 2025 film You’re Cordially Invited — though a full-length album has yet to be released. His music is a “fusion of jazz-piano with pop and R&B influences,” according to Spotify. Magnus is playing a handful of shows this summer and fall at the Blue Note in Los Angeles.
@magnusferrell @bluenotela you were amazing thank u for having me 🫶🕺🪩 #newmusic #bluenotela #liveperformance #willferrell #magnusferrell ♬ original sound – Magnus
Mattias Ferrell
Mattias, 19, is currently enrolled at USC. He’s quite the athlete: In addition to playing basketball during his childhood, Mattias played volleyball — he helped his high school team win a tournament in 2025, per Instagram. According to USC, he also played soccer growing up, taking after his mom, who played soccer at Pomona College. His mom and dad once coached his team, per News.com.au.
According to his IMDb profile, Mattias had a cameo in his dad’s Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. He’s also listed as an actor on the upcoming movie My Boyfriend is a Demon. The horror movie filmed in Rhode Island in April 2026, according to The Providence Journal. The cast includes David Arquette, Jack Champion, and influencer Vinnie Hacker.
Axel Ferrell
Axel, who turned 16 in January 2026, keeps a lower profile, though he’s appeared on his brother’s social media and posed on the red carpets for Daddy’s Home, Daddy’s Home 2, Barbie, and Despicable Me 4. Like his brothers, he made his screen debut in Anchorman 2. Axel also plays soccer, according to USC.
Over the years, his dad has given some insight into raising three boys under one roof. There is usually a high volume in the house,” the actor told People in 2017. “Whether they’re having a great time or whether they’re losing their minds, they are always yelling.”
