Will Ferrell reveals brutal feedback he received from James Caan
Back in 2003, Will Ferrell delivered one of his most iconic performances as Buddy the Elf in the Christmas comedy film Elf, written by David Berenbaum and directed by Jon Favreau, while the likes of James Caan, Zooey Deschanel and Mary Steenburgen also featured.
The inclusion of Caan was an interesting selection for casting, seeing as The Godfather and Thief actor had often giving intensely violent and dramatic performances in his career. However, in appearing as Buddy’s biological father, he showed his versatility as an actor.
Caan, however, was not a great fan of Ferrell’s effort in Elf, at least until he saw the movie once it had been released. When appearing on the Messy podcast, Ferrell revealed that he failed to impress Caan during the Christmas movie, and his co-star told him he wasn’t funny.
“James Caan, may he rest in peace, we had such a good time working on that movie,” Ferrell noted. “He would tease me. I like to do bits but I’m not like ‘on’ all the time. In between set ups, [Caan] would be like, ‘I don’t get you. You’re not funny.’”
Ferrell responded to Caan by admitting that he knew he was not as good as Robin Williams, adding, “He was 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…”
Eventually, the film came out, and it was at that point that Caan realised that he had got Ferrell all wrong and was blown away by the final cut of Elf. According to Ferrell, Caan pulled him to one side and told him, “I’ve got to 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.”
Ferrell knew that he had driven Caan “crazy” during the film’s production, which led to an air of authenticity in the relationship between the two actors’ characters. The Anchorman and Talladega Nights star explained, “But I love that the whole time, he’s not acting. He’s truly annoyed with me. He’s like, ‘Can this guy shut the fuck up? Jesus.’”
Elf was a major success and is considered one of the best modern Christmas movies of all time. Ferrell was once offered around $29 million to make a sequel movie but rejected the offer, which might have just been to the joy of Caan.
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