One of Will Ferrell’s co-stars didn’t think he was funny, at least not at first.
During an episode of Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s MeSsy podcast, the 56-year-old actor recounted the time his late co-star James Caan didn’t quite get his humor when working together on the set of Elf.
“James Caan, may he rest in peace, we had such a good time working on that movie,” said Ferrell at the 1:03:03 mark, per IndieWire. “He would tease me, because 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—”
However, Caan changed his tune after seeing the now-iconic 2003 Christmas comedy for himself.
“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,'” recalled the Saturday Night Live alum.
He continued, “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.'”
Despite Elf’s success, Ferrell declined a nearly $30 million offer for a sequel due to conflicts with director Jon Favreau, as noted by Caan himself.
Catch Ferrell with Joe La Puma on Complex's Sneaker Shopping below.