Will Ferrell has revealed James Caan wasn’t just acting when they were filming Elf — he was “truly annoyed” with him and didn’t find his “over the top” performance funny.
During a recent episode of the MeSsy podcast, hosted by Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Ferrell revealed that his late Elf co-star Caan, who played his biological father, Walter Hobbs, in the film, was not initially a fan of his performance as Buddy the Elf, which meant he didn’t have to exaggerate his frustrations.
The whole time, he’s not acting. He’s truly annoyed with me.
“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 setups, [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…”
Throughout the film, Hobbs finds himself on the receiving end of shouty serenades, tickle fights, and a gift (for someone special). The straight-talking, serious businessman is outwardly irritated by these acts. It turns out it wasn’t so much of an act, and it was only after seeing the movie that Caan appreciated the hilarity of it.
“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,'” Ferrell recalled. “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 f**k 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.'”
Elf earned over $220 million at the worldwide box office and cemented itself as a modern Christmas classic. Ferrell, however, previously revealed that he turned down a $29 million offer to star in a sequel to the 2003 Christmas comedy.
“I would have had to promote the movie from an honest place, which would’ve been, like, ‘Oh no, it’s not good. I justcouldn’t turn down that much money,'” Ferrell told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021. “And I thought, ‘Can I actually say those words? I don’t think I can, so I guess I can’t do the movie.'”
Sequel or no sequel, Elf really is the gift that keeps on giving — and one that features on IGN’s must-watch list for the holiday season.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.
