Will Ferrell has opened up about filming Elf, revealing that his famous co-star didn’t think he was ‘funny’ at all.
The iconic flick was released in November, 2003, and , who is raised by elves at the North Pole, and his journey to to find his biological father.
Zooey Deschanel, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Peter Dinklage, Mary Steenburgen and Amy Sedaris made up the rest of the cast, .
, the Despicable Me 4 star confessed that Caan, who played his father, had some criticisms of his performance behind the scenes.
Appearing on the MeSsy podcast, : ‘James Caan – may he rest in peace, and we had such a good time working on that movie – he would tease me. I like to do bits but at the same time, I’m not on all the time.
‘We’d be in between setups, he was like, “I don’t get you. You’re not funny. You’re not funny.” And I’m like, “I know! I’m not Robin Williams.” He’s like, “People ask me, “Is he funny?” And I’m like, “No, he’s not funny!” It was all with love but at the same time…
‘I love that the whole time, he’s not acting. He’s truly annoyed with me. Like, “Will this guy shut the f**k up? Jesus!” So I literally drove him crazy in that movie, just acting like that kid.’
However, Caan – who died in 2022 – quickly changed his tune when he saw the finished product.
‘We were walking out of the theater at the premiere, and we walk out together. I take it as like the best compliment, because it’s coming from James Caan,’ Ferrell continued.
‘He’s like, “I gotta tell you, I thought everything you were doing while we were filming was way too over-the-top. Now that I see it in the movie, it’s brilliant.”
‘That was so funny, he’s walking out, shaking his head, going, “Great job. I thought you were way too over the top. But no, it’s brilliant.”’
Reflecting on sharing the screen with the Godfather legend, Ferrell heaped praise on Caan’s performance, explaining that he actually changed their on-screen dynamic.
‘It was scripted a little more that he would get more frustrated and lose his temper with me, and he didn’t want to do any of that,’ he added. ‘He wanted to save it until that moment in the boardroom where he kicks me out and kicks me out of this life.
‘He was totally right. He had plotted where his performance was going to go. It was all serendipity.’
Elf was one of Ferrell’s first projects after leaving Saturday Night Live, which gave the project another layer of pressure to succeed.
Of course, it has gone down as one of the most beloved Christmas films of all time, beside Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street and It’s A Wonderful Life.
But, speaking in a 2022 interview, the Old School actor admitted that he thought .
‘At the time, as I was running around New York City in my yellow tights, I was thinking, “This is gonna be my last movie”,’ he said on the One Show.
‘Little did we know, we were making a movie that would stand the test of time, and people love it.
‘I think because it’s beautifully uncynical. It’s a character who’s excited by everything that is mundane to a person in a normal life, it’s a fish out of water story, it’s very sweet and hopeful and it turns out, it was funny!’
