The 25 people on this list run the gamut from name-above-the-title superstars to new talents just breaking through. What they all have in common is they are currently working in movies -- acting, writing, directing, or oftentimes all three -- and when you watch them, you can't help but laugh.
JUDD APATOW RECENT PROJECTS: Produced Year One, Pineapple Express, Step Brothers
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Wrote and directed Funny People
No matter how you slice it, Apatow is pretty much the main man for laughs this decade. He directed two of the most-successful recent comedies -- "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up" -- and produced just about every other one to come down the pike. And he just signed a deal to direct three more movies. Clearly, this is the dawning of the Age of Apatow.
AZIZ ANSARI RECENT PROJECTS: I Love You, Man, Observe and Report, The Rocker
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Funny People
Sure, Ansari is a new face in the ranks of top comedians, but between his co-starring role on the TV series "Parks and Recreation" and his hilarious turn as stand-up sensation Raaaaaaaandy in "Funny People," he has established himself as someone to watch. His character is garnering so much attention that Apatow is talking about doing a spin-off movie starring him.
JASON BATEMAN RECENT PROJECTS: State of Play, Hancock, Juno
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Extract, Couples Retreat
Bateman's bone-dry delivery has wrung laughs from movies that aren't exactly comedies, like "The Kingdom" and "State of Play," but in the coming months he's going to become a full-blown comic lead. Watch for him in the new Mike Judge flick "Extract" and, hopefully soon, the "Arrested Development" movie.
SACHA BARON COHEN RECENT PROJECTS: Bruno, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill
Nobody puts it all on the line just to get a yuck quite like Sacha Baron Cohen. As a thoroughly waxed Teutonic fashionista in this summer's "Bruno," he disturbed audiences while making them laugh to exhaustion.
STEVE CARELL RECENT PROJECTS: Get Smart, Horton Hears a Who!
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Date Night, Despicable Me
Part of Carell's comic ability is that he just doesn't look that funny. His unassuming manner makes his outbursts into pure insanity all the more hilarious. Whether he's getting his chest waxed or hanging from an airplane, Carell generates a ton of laughs by being an average guy in outrageous circumstances.
MICHAEL CERA RECENT PROJECTS: Year One, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, Juno
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Paper Heart, Youth in Revolt
Cera was only 15 when "Arrested Development" first aired, but he had already developed a unique comic voice that allowed him to steal scenes from his more experienced costars. He's gone on to refine his soft-spoken but sharp-tongued persona in an Oscar-winning dramedy, a modern romance, and a prehistoric buddy flick.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. RECENT PROJECTS: Tropic Thunder, Iron Man
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Iron Man 2, Sherlock Holmes
The Oscars rarely nominate actors in comic roles, but they just couldn't ignore Downey's taboo-shattering turn as the Australian-turned-African-American method actor Kirk Lazarus in "Tropic Thunder." Plus, he wrote many of Tony Stark's witty one-liners in "Iron Man" himself, adding a much-needed element of humor to the superhero genre.
WILL FERRELL RECENT PROJECTS: Land of the Lost, Step Brothers
UPCOMING PROJECTS: The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, The Other Guys
Though this summer's "Land of the Lost" was dud, Ferrell's previous movies from "Elf" to last year's "Step Brothers" -- which he co-wrote -- proves that he is still a comic A-lister. Hopefully he will soon make good on his promises for a sequel to "Anchorman."
TINA FEY RECENT PROJECTS: Baby Mama, Mean Girls
UPCOMING PROJECTS: The Invention of Lying, Date Night
Though she's more known for her television work in "30 Rock" and "Saturday Night Live," Fey did draw laughs with her 2008 hit "Baby Mama." Watch for her starring opposite fellow list-makers Ricky Gervais in "The Invention of Lying" and Steve Carell in "Date Night."
ZACH GALIFIANAKIS RECENT PROJECTS: The Hangover, G-Force
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Youth in Revolt, Little Fish, Strange Pond
Galifianakis' stand-up routine, which featured a piano, flip charts, and a singing chorus became the stuff of legend in the comedy world, but he didn't get any mainstream cred until his brilliantly weird performance in "The Hangover." Soon he'll start work on "Due Date" with Robert Downey Jr.
RICKY GERVAIS RECENT PROJECTS: Ghost Town, Night of the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
UPCOMING PROJECTS: The Invention of Lying, Cemetery Junction
After ushering in a new age of truthful, awkward comedy by creating and acting in the original UK version of "The Office," Gervais has set his sights on American movies. In September he is co-writing, directing and starring in "The Invention of Lying," about an alternate world where everyone always tells the truth until his character gets the idea he can just make stuff up.
KEN JEONG RECENT PROJECTS: The Hangover, Pineapple Express, Role Models
UPCOMING PROJECTS: The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, Couples Retreat
Dubbed the "funniest doctor in America" by the cast of "The View," Jeong, who is indeed a licensed physician, has appeared in a string of hilarious bit roles like the ill-tempered OB/GYN in "Knocked Up" and, most recently, the naked, tire iron wielding gangster in "The Hangover."
JANE LYNCH RECENT PROJECTS: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Role Models
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Julie & Julia, Paul
Though she might not be a household name like Will Ferrell, Lynch has been seemingly everywhere, including supporting roles in "Role Models," "The Rocker," and the upcoming "Julie & Julia." This fall she'll star in the much-anticipated TV series, "Glee," but she'll surely continue to pop up in movies and bring the laughs.
LESLIE MANN RECENT PROJECTS: 17 Again, Knocked Up
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Funny People, Shorts
Sure, Leslie Mann's career hasn't exactly been hurt by the fact that her husband, Judd Apatow, is cinema's reigning comedy kingpin. Of course, it helps that she's also genuinely funny, as seen in "Knocked Up," "Funny People" and "17 Again."
DANIEL McBRIDE RECENT PROJECTS: Land of the Lost, Observe and Report, Tropic Thunder
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Despicable Me, Your Highness
Ever since he starred in the cult hit "The Foot Fist Way," Danny McBride has been tickling audiences with a series of small roles in "Hot Rod," "Pineapple Express" and "Tropic Thunder." This year, along with writing and performing in the HBO series "Eastbound and Down," he appears with Will Ferrell in "Land of the Lost."
SIMON PEGG RECENT PROJECTS: Star Trek, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Hot Fuzz
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Paul, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn
Pegg burst on the scene in the U.S. with his 2004 movie "Shaun of the Dead," easily the funniest zombie flick ever made. Since then, his career has vaulted into the stratosphere with a turn as Scotty in "Star Trek" and Inspector Thomson in Steven Spielberg's highly anticipated "Tintin" movie.
JOHN C. REILLY RECENT PROJECTS: Step Brothers, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
UPCOMING PROJECTS: 9, The Vampire's Assistant
Unlike many on this list who found their way to the silver screen through sketch comedy or stand-up, John C. Reilly got his start in the dramatic "Casualties of War," and he went on to have an august, Oscar-nominated acting career. Then he starred opposite Will Ferrell in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" and a comic star was born.
CRAIG ROBINSON RECENT PROJECTS: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Miss March, Zack and Miri Make a Porno
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Post Grad, Father of Invention
For a long time, Robinson was "that guy" -- a familiar but not famous face that seemed to pop up in every other flick and TV show. Thanks to a recurring role on "The Office" along with some hilarious supporting roles in movies like "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" and "Pineapple Express," he's starting to get his share of the limelight. Watch for him in next year's "Hot Tub Time Machine," opposite John Cusack.
SETH ROGEN RECENT PROJECTS: Observe and Report, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Pineapple Express
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Funny People, Paul, The Green Hornet
Since he starred in "Knocked Up," a few years ago, Seth Rogen has been everywhere. Since 2008, he's been in nine movies including "Pineapple Express," "Observe and Report," and this week's "Funny People." Next up, he becomes an action hero when he writes and stars in the new version of "The Green Hornet."
PAUL RUDD RECENT PROJECTS: I Love You, Man, Role Models
UPCOMING PROJECTS: How Do You Know?, Dinner for Schmucks
Paul Rudd burst onto the scene as a dreamy romantic lead in movies like "Clueless," but his career really took off when he embraced his funny side and appeared in flicks like "Anchorman" and "Knocked Up." Interestingly, it allowed to him to become a bro-mantic leading man in "Role Models and "I Love You, Man."
ADAM SANDLER RECENT PROJECTS: Bedtime Stories, You Don't Mess with the Zohan
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Funny People, Grown Ups
Judd Apatow's former roommate has been a comedy superstar since his "Happy Gilmore" days in the '90s. But as "Funny People" and "Zohan" proves, he still has it. He'll team up with his funny friends Chris Rock, Kevin James, Rob Schneider and David Spade for 2010's "Grown Ups."
JASON SEGEL RECENT PROJECTS: I Love You, Man, Forgetting Sarah Marshall
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Despicable Me, Gulliver's Travels
Over the past couple years, movie audiences have seen a lot of Jason Segel -- probably more than they'd like -- but he did garner lots of laughs in "I Love You, Man" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," for which he wrote the screenplay and all the "Dracula musical" songs.
BEN STILLER RECENT PROJECTS: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Tropic Thunder
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Greenberg, Little Fockers
Stiller co-wrote, directed, and starred in one of the best-reviewed and funniest flicks of '08, "Tropic Thunder," which earned armloads of accolades and an Oscar nomination for Robert Downey Jr. Watch for him in the latest of the "Meet the Parents" franchise in "Little Fockers."
KRISTIN WIIG RECENT PROJECTS: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Adventureland
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Extract, Whip It, Date Night, Paul
Wiig, like her former co-worker Tina Fey, is best known for her gut-busting TV work, but in the past couple of years she has racked up a series of memorable supporting roles in movies from the smash "Knocked Up" to indie hit "Adventureland." Watch for her as Jason Bateman's wife in "Extract" and as a roller derby diva in "Whip It" this fall.
KAL PENN/JOHN CHO
RECENT PROJECTS: Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
UPCOMING PROJECTS: A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas
Separately, Kal Penn and John Cho are accomplished actors, playing it straight in movies like "The Namesake" and "Star Trek." But together, in a weird peanut-butter-in-chocolate-like alchemy, they are freakin' hilarious. Though Penn is currently working for the Obama White House, watch for another installment of the Harold and Kumar franchise coming next year.
