Overpaid actor Will Ferrell is also a nice guy: Ask Pete Carroll

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Will Ferrell is Hollywood’s most overpaid actor, according to Forbes.com. He’s got some good company too: Ewan McGregor, Tom Cruise and Billy Bob Thornton are in the Top 10.

But, hey, does the Ministry see Ewan or Tom or even Billy Bob dropping their names on a comedy event to help some of L.A.’s toughest neighborhoods? No, it does not. Will Ferrell, however, is hooking up with USC Coach Pete Carroll to do just that.

One word: karma.

More on the event in a sec -- first, how did Will get the short end of the ROI stick? Forbes looked at actors who over the last five years had starred in at least three movies that opened in more than 500 theaters, figured out money out and money in, and then a bunch of math happened...

Voila, numbers emerged.

Seems producers earned only $3.29 for every buck Will got.To put that in context, cribbing from an earlier article on actors who deliver the best return on investment, Shia LaBeouf delivers $160 to the producers for every dollar.

Christian Bale and Robert Downey Jr. were also on the bang-for-the-buck list, which seems to reinforce the ‘high risk, high return’ tenet of investing.

But there’s one production almost certain to see good return with Will Ferrell involved: The USC grad who’s often seen on the sidelines during Trojans football games is lending his name and hosting skills to a night of comedy to benefit A Better LA, a nonprofit created by Carroll and others to promote peace and unity within Los Angeles.

On the bill: ‘The Hangover’s’ Zach Galifianakis, Demetri Martin, Aubrey Plaza of ‘Parks and Recreation,’ Rob Riggle of ‘Gary Unmarried’ and Nick Swardson of ‘Reno 911!’

Tickets for the event went on sale today.

Anyone wanna spot Shia a few bucks so he can go to the show?

-- Christie D’Zurilla

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