More than 20 years after its release in theaters, Will Ferrell talks about the filming of one of his greatest hits: Elf.
Ferrell, 56, played Buddy the elf in the holiday comedy, a North Pole elf who discovers his real father is a New York publishing executive (James Caan).
The film (the first major studio film directed by Jon Favreau, five years before he made Marvel Studios’ first film, Iron Man) was a hit, grossing $228.9 million worldwide on a budget of just $33 million.
The comedian appeared on his Anchorman co-star Christina Applegate’s show. Messy Podcast with Jamie Lynn Sigler, where he admitted that Caan didn’t think he was funny.
However, after seeing the finished film at the premiere, Caan would eventually admit that Ferrell’s performance was “brilliant.”
More than 20 years after its release in theaters, Will Ferrell opens up about the filming of one of his greatest hits: Elf
The comedian appeared on his Anchorman co-star Christina Applegate’s podcast Messy with Jamie Lynn Sigler, where he admitted that Caan didn’t think he was funny.
Ferrell said he and Caan, who died in 2022 at age 82, “had a great time working on that movie.”
“In the build-up, (Caan) was like, ‘I don’t understand you. You’re not funny.’ And I was like, ‘I know. I’m not Robin Williams,'” Ferrell began.
“And he was like, ‘People ask me, is this funny? ‘ And I was like, ‘No, it’s not funny. ‘ He said it all with love, but at the same time…'” Ferrell admitted.
He added that Caan would not fully appreciate Ferrell’s work until he saw the finished film at the premiere.
“And then we were leaving the theater at the premiere, and we walked out together and I take that as the highest compliment because it’s coming from James Caan,” Ferrell began.
“He said, ‘I have to tell you, everything you were doing while we were filming seemed so over the top to me. Now that I see it in the movie, it’s brilliant,'” Ferrell said.
“But I love that the whole time he’s not acting. He’s really upset with me. He’s like, ‘Can this guy just shut the fuck up? Oh my God,'” Ferrell joked.
“In that movie I literally drove him crazy, just acting like that kid. But the funniest thing was him walking out of the theater, shaking his head and saying, ‘That’s great,'” Ferrell admitted.
Ferrell said he and Caan, who died in 2022 at age 82, “had a great time working on that movie.”
“In the build-up, (Caan) was like, ‘I don’t understand you. You’re not funny.’ And I was like, ‘I know. I’m not Robin Williams,'” Ferrell began.
The actor added that Caan even changed one of the scenes to have a more explosive argument between the two.
“I was more anticipating him getting more frustrated and losing his temper with me. And he didn’t want to do any of that,” Ferrell said.
The actor added that Caan even changed one of the scenes to have a more explosive argument between the two.
“I was more anticipating him getting more frustrated and losing his temper with me. And he didn’t want to do any of that,” Ferrell said.
“He wanted to save it until he was going to throw me in the boardroom. He wanted it to be a slow process, and he was absolutely right,” Ferrell admitted.
The film was Ferrell’s first major film after leaving Saturday Night Live, where he starred from 1995 to 2002, after a supporting role in Old School.
