Will Ferrell Says This ‘Elf’ Co-Star Told Him He Wasn’t ‘Funny’ on Set

Will Ferrell revealed that the late James Caan would “tease” him by telling him he wasn’t funny while filming the iconic holiday comedy “Elf.”

Ferrell in a recent appearance on the “MeSsy” podcast starring Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler – spoke about his concerns about whether ‘Elf’ would be ‘disastrous’ before recalling his time on set with Caan, who died in 2022.

“I like doing things, but at the same time I’m not always ‘on’… Between settings he said, ‘I don’t understand you. You are not funny. You’re not funny,'” said Ferrell, who noted that Caan’s jabs were “with love.”

“And I’m like, ‘I know, I’m not Robin Williams, I’m not like…’ and he’s like, ‘People ask me, is he funny?’ I’m like, ‘No, he’s not funny.'”

The “Saturday Night Live” alum later recalled that he was walking out of the theater after the premiere of “Elf” when his co-star gave him “the best compliment.”

“He said, ‘I have to tell you: I thought everything you did during filming was way too exaggerated.’ Now that I see it in the movie, it’s brilliant,” said Ferrell, who played Buddy in the classic holiday film.

He continued, “But I love that all the time, like he’s not acting. He’s really annoyed with me. He says, ‘Can this man keep his mouth shut? Jesus.’ So I literally drove him crazy in that movie just by acting like that kid. But that was so funny, he walks out, shakes his head and says, “Good job, I thought you were way too exaggerated.” But no, it’s brilliant, it’s brilliant. ”

‘Elf’ director Jon Favreau, in a 2020 interview with Rolling Stonerevealed that Ferrell also returned a joke to Caan on set.

‘Will gave it as a wrapping gift – he wrote a note that said: ‘Great to work with you. The first one is a bit slow, but the second two are really good.’ And it was ‘The Godfather’ trilogy,” Favreau recalled.

Ferrell told the ‘MeSsy’ podcast that it was later given “a little more script” that Caan would become more frustrated and “lose his cool” over him in the film.

“And he didn’t want to do any of that,” Ferrell said.

‘He wanted to save it until that moment in the boardroom where he kicks me out and kicks me out of his life. No, it has to be a slow build-up and he was absolutely right.