Following his own free Will

Will Ferrell performs at Boston College during a tour for his "Funny or Die" video comedy site and new movie "Semi-Pro." Another Ferrell role: advocating for the community of comedians. (dina rudick/globe staff)

Jackie Moon is a bear-wrestling, silk-cape-wearing basketball team owner/player/coach who croons the same nugget of disco cheese before every home game: "Love Me Sexy."

The fact that Moon is a character played by Will Ferrell, and that his theme song is a bit crude and over the top is part of what makes Ferrell's latest film, "Semi-Pro," - well, classic Will Ferrell.

The song is "catchy enough to find yourself tapping your toe a little bit against your will," says Ferrell, resting on a leather couch at Conte Forum during the Boston College stop of his recent "Funny or Die" tour.

No one has been on a bigger roll than Ferrell in the past five years. He has put together a string of hit comedies, from his breakthrough in "Old School" to the huge box office draw of "Elf," "Talladega Nights," and "Blades of Glory." He has a high enough profile that he can use one project to promote another, hyping "Semi-Pro," which hit theaters Friday, with the tour for "Funny or Die," the comedy video site he runs with partners Adam McKay and Chris Henchy.

He's got a big enough name to become a serious advocate for comedy and the community of comedians.

Having his name on the bill as host allowed Ferrell to tap hot comedic talents Zach Galifianakis, Demetri Martin, and Nick Swardson for the tour, which featured stand-up and Ferrell's off-the-cuff interstitial sketches. He also snagged uber-producer and Chic founding member Nile Rodgers to co-write and produce "Love Me Sexy."

Ferrell is writing his own ticket now, developing projects with his own team, like this coming summer's "Step Brothers," which McKay directed, and his upcoming production of "Land of the Lost," written by Henchy.

"Now I'm in a place where we're kind of developing a lot of the material and cutting out the middle man," said Ferrell. "Finding writers we like to work with and then, here's this premise, run with it."

Most people think of Ferrell in terms of characters like Ron Burgundy from "Anchorman" or infamous "Saturday Night Live" characters like Spartan cheerleader Craig or fictional Blue Oyster Cult cowbell player Gene Frenkle - mostly well-meaning but conceited buffoons who can't seem to get out of their own way.

That kind of uniquely American bravado is something Ferrell finds endlessly fascinating. "Hopefully my internal meter will tell me if that's something that's been exhausted," he says. "But, I don't know, I still think there's a wealth to be done on that general topic."

It has become a standard refrain in countless cover stories to separate the more down-to-earth Ferrell from his outlandish characters. If the stories of Ferrell's nice guy-ness are apocryphal, you won't find many dissenters.

In a brief, informal conversation in the tunnels of Conte Forum, Zach Galifianakis mentions what a nice guy Ferrell is, that he saw Ferrell carrying people's luggage for them on the tour.

Boston native Rob Corddry, who is in "Semi-Pro" - the third film he's worked on with Ferrell (the others are "Old School" and "Blades of Glory") - laughs hearing the story about the luggage.

"Will Ferrell gives out free backrubs on movie sets," he says, speaking by phone. "He just makes everybody feel good around him. He's also not one of these guys who feels like he has to be funny all the time, constantly doing bits on the set. Which is pretty much the rest of us."

Ferrell may get top billing, but most of his work is driven by a talented team, from "Semi-Pro" to FunnyOrDie.com. He has always loved ensemble comedies, and his philosophy has always been, the more funny characters, the better; it's a way of thinking that started with his early years as part of Los Angeles's Groundlings troupe and continued through his run on "Saturday Night Live."

"I had as much fun being a supporting part of a sketch as I did being a main part, and I really appreciated when people did the same in the sketches I wrote," he says. "I got as many and hard a laugh as someone who came in with one line as the person who ran the whole thing."

Ferrell is willing to step back and play the foil, as evidenced in a scene around a poker table in "Semi-Pro." Five veteran comic actors - former MadTV cast member Andrew Daly (a scene-stealer as play-by-play announcer Dick Pepperfield), SNL alum Tim Meadows, Will Arnett from "Arrested Development," and former Conan sidekick and Improv Olympic alum Andy Richter - all get their moment to shine.

"That is a good example of a place where everybody understands what it takes to kind of move the scene forward, and it's not about showboating," says Arnett, who also toured with "Funny or Die." "It's never about that. It's always about trying to make the scene funnier. That's a real gift, and Will understands that in every scene, I think."

Ferrell is also more than willing to give his costars credit, and he's glad for the balance they provide. "I just live in fear of . . . you just don't want people to get sick of you," Ferrell says. He laughs. "When you watch that scene, I think it's kind of beautifully put together. For a lame analogy, it's like a basketball team that makes 10 passes and really works the ball around, and then, because of that, someone's open for a really easy lay-up to score a basket. And it's fun to see a lot of comedic actors work in concert like that."

This summer's "Step Brothers" is founded in the same kind of teamwork. Ferrell developed the story, about two grown men who live at home and become step-brothers when their single parents marry, with director McKay and costar John C. Reilly. Ferrell thinks it may get lumped in with some of his more brash characters, but hopes it doesn't. "It's, I think, radically different," he says. "It's not a heightened character. It's not like a Jackie Moon or Ron Burgundy. We play real guys. Our behavior is cartoonish at times, but it's a pretty real setting."