Will Ferrell has revealed James Caan didn’t have to rely on his acting skills too much while filming beloved Christmas movie Elf as he genuinely found him very annoying.
The 2003 flick sees Ferrell portray the character Buddy, a human who was raised in the North Pole as an elf and travels to New York to find his biological father Walter Hobbs (Caan).
While Buddy is very child-like and enthusiastic about everything, Walter - who we learn early on is on Santa’s naughty list - is mean, cynical and persistently frustrated by Buddy’s antics.
Recalling his time working with acting legend Caan, who died in 2022, Ferrell says that while the actor loved the finished result, during production he thought Ferrell was “way too over the top”.
“James Caan, may he rest in peace, we had such a good time working on that movie,” Ferrell told Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler while a guest on the Messy podcast.
“He would tease me. Christina, you know: 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….”
During filming, Caan was said to have been so annoyed by Ferrell’s turn that he asked to have his character arc changed so that the pair could have a more explosive argument.
“It was scripted a little more that he would get more frustrated and lose his temper with me. And he didn’t want to do any of that,” Ferrell explained.
“He wanted to save it until that moment in the boardroom when he kicks me out. He wanted it to be a slow build, and he was totally right.”
The Despicable Me 4 star also shared the light bulb moment that Caan seemingly experienced after watching the film for the first time at the premiere.
“And then we were walking out of the theater at the premiere, and we walk out together, and I take it as the best compliment because it’s coming from James Caan.“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 said.
“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*** 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 theatre and shaking his head and going, ‘It’s brilliant.’”
