Frat Pack

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The "Frat Pack" is a nickname given to a group of comedy actors who have appeared together in many of the highest-grossing comedy movies since the late 1990s. The group is usually considered to include Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Steve Carell.

The term was used by USA Today in a June 2004 story and was soon picked up by other media outlets. Before USA Today dubbed this group the "Frat Pack," Entertainment Weekly had referred to them as the "Slacker Pack,"[4] having earlier coined the term "Frat Pack" to describe actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Edward Norton who have done dramatic roles together.[5] By 2005, Entertainment Weekly had dropped the "Slacker Pack" term and followed suit, referring to the former crop of actors as the "Frat Pack."

Recently, the term has also been coined with the actors that have collaborated with director Judd Apatow like Seth Rogen,Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Martin Starr, Jason Segel and James Franco. These members have been called the "Apatow Chapter" of the Frat Pack.

The name is an allusion to the Rat Pack (and the later Brat Pack), combined with a reference to the group's popular fraternity-related film, Old School, and the sophomoric style of humor employed in many of their films. Ben Stiller has decried the use of the term, saying, "I think the whole thing about the Frat Pack group is completely fabricated anyway..

Membership
Initially, the core members included Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and brothers Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson, all of whom were recognized by USA Today in an early feature. Later, Steve Carell was also included in the Pack. The previous year, USA Today had listed him, along with Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Leslie Mann, among the Frat Pack's "Junior Varsity".[11] While hosting Saturday Night Live in September 2005, Carell indirectly claimed membership by mentioning Stiller, Vaughn, Ferrell, Owen Wilson, and Black, and saying he was "one of those guys now".[12]

In 2005, Details Magazine called Judd Apatow, Adam McKay, and Todd Phillips "The Frat Packagers". A year later, Paul Rudd was called a Frat Pack member by the New York Post and other publications.[13][14] Asked by an interviewer with The Advocate whether Knocked Up would usher him into the Frat Pack, Rudd said he was a "pledge" that hasn't "been initiated yet into the brotherhood."

Years later, in a 2011 interview, Rudd acknowledged his association with the group by saying, "As far as the Frat Pack concept goes, I'm happy to be included. I think the elder statesmen in it are really talented, and I'm a fan of all of them." In a 2008 interview with Moviefone's Unscripted, Jack Black jokingly initiated Robert Downey, Jr. into the Frat Pack, due to his starring role in Tropic Thunder with Black and Ben Stiller.

The members of the Frat Pack have worked regularly with certain directors. Wes Anderson  is a college friend of the Wilsons and directed them in both Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums (which also starred Stiller). Todd Phillips directed Old School and Starsky & Hutch. Adam McKay directed Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Step Brothers, which included John C. Reilly as a lead role. Judd Apatow is the writer/producer of several Frat Pack comedies, including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. He made his directorial debut with The 40-Year-Old Virgin, starring Steve Carell, and followed up with Knocked Up, starring Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd, with a cameo by Carell. Apatow was also a co-creator of The Ben Stiller Show. Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin worked again with Vince Vaughn for the Christmas comedy Fred Claus (2007).

The Farrelly Brothers have directed Frat Pack members Ben Stiller in There's Something About Mary and The Heartbreak Kid, Jack Black in Shallow Hal and Owen Wilson in Hall Pass.

After The 40-Year-Old Virgin, there has been a consensus for branding a Team Apatow  or the Apatow Mafia, which takes its name from the director/producer Judd Apatow. This group of young actors, consisting of Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Jay Baruchel, Paul Rudd, Michael Cera, Jason Segel, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Craig Robinson,Joe Lo Truglio, Martin Starr ,Bill Hader,Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Krumholtz, and Evan Goldberg, in addition to appearing frequently in films of the Frat Pack, frequently collaborate with each other. Many fans also consider them as integral members of the Frat Pack.

Then there are the  actors and actresses who have worked with the Frat Pack, and which are often defined as  Pledges (  which means candidates not yet official members). They are often family members, close friends of one or more members of the group (such as Christine Taylor , Quinn Dempsey, the wife and son of Stiller) and can be considered as "junior members" of the pack.
 * Seth Rogen
 * Evan Goldberg
 * Lauren Miller
 * Jonah Hill
 * Paul Rudd
 * James Franco
 * Jason Segel
 * Danny McBride
 * Craig Robinson
 * Bill Hader
 * Jay Baruchel
 * Martin Starr
 * Michael Cera
 * Christopher Mintz-Plasse
 * Bobb'e J. Thompson
 * Joe Lo Truglio
 * Jefferson Texas Hammond
 * Magnus Paulin Ferrell
 * Samuel Black
 * Quinn Dempsey Stiller
 * Jack McBrayer
 * John C. Reilly
 * Kristen Wiig
 * Ken Marino
 * Adam Scott
 * Channing Tatum
 * Chris Evans
 * Dave Franco
 * Justin Long
 * Anna Kendrick
 * Emma Stone
 * Jason Ritter
 * Rebel Wilson
 * Leslie Mann
 * Elizabeth Banks
 * Tina Fey
 * Amy Poehler
 * Anne Hathaway
 * Rachael Dratch
 * Maya Rudolph
 * Ana Gasteyer
 * Rashida Jones
 * Jennifer Aniston
 * Jason Bateman
 * Jason Sudeikis
 * Bradley Cooper
 * Ed Helms
 * Zach Galifianakis
 * Ken Jeong
 * Aziz Ansari
 * Chris Pratt
 * Jason Schwartzman
 * David Krumholtz
 * Kevin Corrigan
 * Gerry Bednob
 * David Koechner
 * Christina Applegate
 * Kathryh Hahn
 * Malin Åkerman
 * Rob Riggle
 * Chris Parnell
 * Jesse Eisenberg
 * Seann William Scott
 * James Marsden
 * Clark Duke
 * Will Forte
 * Will Arnett
 * Hank Azaria
 * Rob Corddry
 * Thomas Lennon
 * Andy Dick
 * Jon Favreau
 * Rainn Wilson
 * Nick Offerman
 * Kyle Gass
 * Cameron Diaz
 * Juliette Lewis
 * Jim Carrey
 * Christine Taylor
 * Alan Alda
 * Christopher Walken
 * Melissa McCarthy
 * Rose Bryne
 * Amy Adams
 * Sacha Baron Cohen
 * Andy Richter
 * Adam Sandler
 * Chris Rock
 * David Spade
 * Kevin James
 * Rob Schneider
 * Steve Buscemi
 * Mike Myers
 * Eddie Murphy
 * Mindy Kaling
 * Jane Lynch
 * Sarah Sliverman
 * Jon Lovitz
 * Tim Meadows
 * Janeane Garofalo
 * Bob Odenkirk
 * Fred Armisen
 * Kevin Hart
 * Andy Samberg
 * Tracey Morgan
 * Romany Malco
 * Martin Lawerence
 * Mike Epps
 * Molly Shannon
 * Kristen Schaal
 * Jordan Peele
 * Keegan Michael-Key
 * Judah Friedlander


 * There are also some who have worked in several films of the Frat Pack and can be considered their affiliates.
 * Wes Anderson
 * Judd Apatow
 * David Dobkin
 * Adam McKay
 * Todd Phillips
 * Jay Roach
 * Greg Mottola
 * Nicholas Stoller
 * Phil Lord and Chris Miller