Elf hit theaters back in 2003 and immediately entered the pantheon of classic Christmas movies. Will Ferrell’s performance as Buddy the Elf helped vault the Saturday Night Live alum into comedy superstardom, but one of his main costars in the film didn’t think he was actually funny when they were on set. The late James Caan played Buddy’s father, Walter, in Elf, and shared quite a few scenes with Ferrell throughout the film. According to Ferrell, Caan didn’t find his performance amusing.
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During a recent episode of the MeSsy podcast, hosted by Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Ferrell revealed that Caan told him on multiple occasions that he wasn’t very funny.
“James Caan, may he rest in peace, we had such a good time working on that movie,” Ferrell said. “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.’ And I’m like, ‘I know. I’m not Robin Williams.’ And 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…”
Ferrell went on to say that Caan actually changed his tune when Elf was hitting theaters and he could watch the final product. The actor explained on the podcast that Caan approached him after the premiere screening and complimented his comedy.
“He was like, ‘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,’” said Ferrell. “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.’ I literally drove him crazy in that movie, just acting like that kid. But that was the funniest thing, him walking out of the theater and shaking his head and going ‘it’s brilliant.’”
As Ferrell noted, Caan’s feelings with his comedy likely helped Elf in the long run. Walter spends much of the movie completely fed up with Buddy, never fully knowing what to do with him and never finding him amusing. With Caan actually feeling that way about Ferrell, it took the character to a new level.
