Will Ferrell admits he thought ‘Elf’ would ruin his career
Boy was he wrong...December 24, 2018
Will Ferrell has worn many hats throughout his acting career, with one of the most memorable being his hilarious role in the Christmas classic Elf. What we now consider a holiday film must-see had some serious doubters when it began filming 15 years ago, with Ferrell himself admitting he thought the film would end up destroying his career.
Love it or hate it, there’s no getting away from all the Buddy The Elf quotes and memes this time of year. It’s hard to imagine what Christmas was like before this film barged its way into our lives and while most find the film hilarious and enjoyable, Ferrell admits he had his doubts.
Sitting down in an interview on The Late Late Show With James Corden, the actor reveals that he wasn’t 100% on board with the film at first.
“Yeah there were moments,” Ferrell said. “The first two weeks of shooting were kind of all the exteriors in New York and so, you know, still kind of discovering what this movie’s going to be and running around New York City in yellow tights.”
The 2003 film was shot during the early stages of Ferrell’s career, leaving the future of his career in the hands of this movie.
While filming, he says he saw “people recognizing me from Saturday Night Live going, ‘Are you okay? What’s going on?’ and thinking to myself this is either going to be a home run or people are going to go, ‘Whatever happened to you? Why did you do that one about the elf?'”
He wasn’t the only actor that had his doubts. Ferrell recalls how actor James Caan didn’t know how to feel about his “over the top” Buddy The Elf performance.
“He came up to me at the premiere and you know, it had gone great, and people were like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is gonna be fantastic’, and he’s like, ‘Hey, I got to tell you something. Every day on set I thought you were way too over the top, but now I see what you’re doing. Great job!’ So I just love the thought that there we were working every day and he’s going back to his hotel room going, ‘Jeez, get me out of this one!'”
You can watch the full interview below:
What’s your favorite holiday movie? Sound off in the comments below!
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