New Line Cinema
Will Ferrell and James Caan’s characters in Elf couldn’t be more different from each other. You’ve got Buddy the Elf who is a literal elf from the North Pole and then Walter Hobbs (his dad) who lives in reality. As it turns out, their personas off camera during filming of Elf sort of mirrored this relationship.
During a recent appearance on the MeSsy with Christina Applegate & Jamie-Lynn Sigler podcast, Will Ferrell talked about filming Elf and how James Caan would mercilessly roast him on set for being unfunny.
Speaking about working with the late great James Caan, Will Ferrell said:
“James Caan, may he rest in peace, we had such a good time working on that movie. He would tease me. I like to do bits but I’m not like ‘on’ all the time. In between set ups, (he) 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…”
It wasn’t until after the film’s premiere that James Caan payed Will Ferrell the ultimate compliment and told him how the over-the-top acting for Buddy the Elf was perfect. Caan also took the chance to roast Will Ferrell a little more in a backhanded compliment, saying:
“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.’ 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 theater and shaking his head and going ‘it’s brilliant.’”
It is incredibly easy to envision how James Caan, a son of Jewish immigrants from Germany whose father was a butcher, who rose the ranks in Hollywood to be nominated for 1973’s Best Actor in a Supporting Role at The Oscars for The Godfather, could be incredibly annoyed by Will Ferrell’s acting in that movie. In fact, the first time I saw Elf I found him so annoying I didn’t think I would ever watch it again but somehow I did and it grew on me over the years.
The full episode of the MeSsy with Christina Applegate & Jamie-Lynn Sigler podcast with Will Ferrell can be streamed here on Apple.