The 'Anchorman' Cast By The Numbers

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Nearly 10 years ago the world was introduced to a stately San Di-ago news anchor who prefers the aroma of rich mahogany and has a healthy taste for scotch (scotchy scotch scotch). Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy was released on July 9, 2004, proving that Saturday Night Live alum Will Ferrell could carry a movie, and modern moviegoers enjoy fight sequences that reference West Side Story.

The film largely introduced audiences to Steve Carell, arriving just before NBC's The Office, and featured an entire subplot starring Maya Rudolph that never made it to the big screen. With the sequel currently in theaters--and promising cameos from the likes of Drake and Kanye West--we felt it was only right to look back on how far the core cast has come, as well as the film's overall influence on pop culture to date. You know what that means...

News team, assemble!

1 Justin Bieber tweet

[caption id="attachment_404325" align="aligncenter" width="615"] [Photo Credit: DreamWorks Pictures][/caption]On the opening night of his 2012 Believe tour, pop superstar Justin Bieber succumbed to queasiness and/or a questionable pre-show meal in the middle of his performance. It was filmed, GIF'd and dissected; a moment that lived in pop culture infamy. But rather than retreat to the safety of his inner circle, Bieber made fun of the incident and himself (see below). We're so happy he had Ron Burgundy to turn to during this time of need.

And .... Milk was a bad choice! Lol

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) September 30, 2012

2 Christina Applegate sitcoms

[caption id="attachment_404371" align="aligncenter" width="615"] [Photo Credit: NBC][/caption]Applegate broke out on the sitcom Married... With Children, before squaring off against Ferrell as Veronica Corningstone, a--gasp!--female news anchor with little concern for Burgundy's local celebrity, yet a woman unable to resist his silky speech (and that mustache, natch). After the film she continued to float around network TV and landed two sitcoms: ABC's Samantha Who? and NBC's Up All Night. Both shows struggled to find an audience; Who was canceled after two seasons and Up All Night went through a series of creative changes before Applegate left the show during its second season hiatus (it was canceled months later).

3 Saturday Night Live hosting gigs

[caption id="attachment_404362" align="aligncenter" width="615"] [Photo Credit: NBC][/caption]SNL is where Ferrell became a household name, and he has returned to Studio 8H to host three times (2005, 2009, 2012) since leaving the cast in 2002.

5 sports-related roles played by David Koechner

[caption id="attachment_404347" align="aligncenter" width="615"] [Photo Credit: DreamWorks Pictures][/caption]After playing KVWN sports reporter Champ Kind, Koechner was cast in a slew of roles that expected him to wear a whistle or throw out familiar sports metaphors, including: Talladgea Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (with Ferrell), The Comebacks, Balls of Fury, Semi-Pro (with Ferrell) and The Perfect Game.

9 members of the newest musical craze

Ferrell's most recent SNL visit came during Paul Rudd's hosting gig earlier this month. During the opening monologue, Rudd brought out his KVWN Channel 4 news buddies to make beautiful music with the strapping gents of UK boy band One Direction. "Afternoon Delight" never sounded so good.

[caption id="attachment_404327" align="aligncenter" width="615"] [Photo Credit: DreamWorks Pictures][/caption]9 Judd Apatow projects

[caption id="attachment_404340" align="aligncenter" width="615"] [Photo Credit: Getty Images][/caption]

In addition to unbridled 1D fandom, Rudd also leads his Anchorman costars in Judd Apatow collaborations. Since Anchorman, he has worked with the writer-director-producer nine times (plus an uncredited cameo in 2011's Bridesmaids, which Apatow produced). Their most notable projects include Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which stars the adorable Brick Tamland aka Steve Carell.

12 feature films with Maya Rudolph

[caption id="attachment_404367" align="aligncenter" width="615"] [Photo Credit: Getty Images][/caption]Even though the powers that be decided to scrap Rudolph's subplot as Kanshasha X from the final cut, diehard fans have likely seen her performance. Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie, a straight-to-DVD film featuring unseen footage from Anchorman, was released in December 200 and featured performances by Rudolph and Chuck D as well as cameos by Amy Poehler and Justin Long. Since then, Rudolph hasn't struggled to get roles. In addition to starring on Up All Night alongside Applegate, she's acted in 12 feature films, including Bridesmaids opposite Anchorman 2 star Kristen Wiig. In November, NBC ordered a pilot for a Rudolph-helmed variety show, with plans to air it as a primetime special next year.

70 Dodge Durango ads to promote Anchorman 2

As part of a divisive ad campaign that began with the in-character announcement that an Anchorman sequel was officially in the works, Ferrell lent himself to a series of car ads this fall--70 to be exact. Yes, there are 70 different permutations of Ron Burgundy standing in front of a truck, waxing on it's ability to purr, all for your viewing pleasure. (But do they make you want to buy a car or see the movie?)

149 episodes of The Office

[caption id="attachment_404336" align="aligncenter" width="615"] [Photo Credit: NBC][/caption]It's difficult to believe that Anchorman was only Carell's fourth feature film, coming at a time when he was best known as a correspondent on The Daily Show. Following the success and outpouring love for his dim Brick, Carell scored the lead in NBC's adaptation of British series The Office. And the rest is history (that's what she said). Over seven seasons as a series regular, Carell won a Golden Globe for his work as Michael Scott, scored five Emmy nominations and earned our acknowledgment that waking up to the smell of fresh bacon is something everyone should strive for in life--no matter how dangerous executing that may be.

81 million views

Ferrell and Anchorman writer/director Adam McKay have a longstanding creative history together since their days at SNL. (McKay was head writer for three seasons during his 1995-2001 tenure.) While Anchorman gave them the box office credibility necessary to explore different projects in Hollywood, their collaboration on comedy website Funny Or Die helped establish them as pioneers in the digital age. 2007 video short "The Landlord," which features McKay's daughter Pearl, is their most successful clip to date, earning 81 million views at the time of posting.

Have a favorite Anchorman line you can't stop quoting? Let us know in the comments below.