Hollywood funnyman Will Ferrell tells us what it’s like to play the ultimate bad guy in the hilarious animated adventure Megamind and why he’s now become a football fan…

Is this the first time you’ve played a full-on baddie?

Well, Mugatu in Zoolander was my only other time as a villain. I don’t usually get offered those kind of parts, but playing Megamind was great fun and I think villains are the most interesting characters to play in a way because they’re extremely flawed and have a lot of problems. They also have the best costumes.

You like to improvise, when you’re ad-libbing your lines do you know where you’re headed or do you just make it up as you go along?

You kind of just go out on this limb. It’s like swimming out into the ocean and sometimes you find land and other times you just drown. But a really good director like Tom [McGrath, Megamind’s director] allows you the freedom to fail and that’s the key. If you set up an environment where failing is encouraged then you want to try everything. It’s obviously the best way to work.

Have you ever nearly drowned?

[Laughs] I’m a really good swimmer.

Has being a dad affected your choice of roles?

My children [Magnus, Mattias and Axel] are still pretty little, they’re all under seven. We talk about my job a lot and they have a clear sense that what I do is make-believe, so I don’t think I’ll ever feel pressure to make choices based on being a parent. Streaking naked down the road in the film Old School – I wouldn’t think twice about doing it now.

Have you shown them any of your films on DVD?

I did show them the streaking scene over and over, on a loop, and told them ‘Don’t do this!’.

Is it true you’re a fan of both Chelsea and Glasgow Celtic football clubs?

I have a Chelsea jersey but not a Celtic one. I do love watching football over here in the UK. The other night I went to the Arsenal match. I am impressed with all the songs and chants you guys do, even though they are indecipherable to me. Everyone seems to know the lyrics and when to sing them, and that’s pretty impressive because we don’t have that really in America. I think in the States we’re a little more simplistic. We have: “Let’s go Rangers” – that’s about as well as we can do.

Megamind is out now on Blu-Ray and DVD.