Will Ferrell revealed that his Saturday Night Live co-stars didn't think he was funny when he first arrived on set in the mid-90s.
In the new Netflix documentary, Will & Harper, the comedian goes on a cross-country road trip with friend and former SNL head writer Harper Steele as the pair reflect on their friendship and Steele coming out as trans.
They also reflected on their first few weeks at the popular sketch comedy program. According to Ferrell, the SNL crew couldn't see his talent and believed he wasn't that funny.
"I was trying to get to know everyone, and there was a group of people who were looking at me and were like, we don't get what this guy does. He doesn't seem that funny," Ferrell recalled.
Steele added that even though everyone else believed Ferrell was a "dud," she felt there was something special in the actor and saw that while hanging around him and connecting through similar interests.
"That first week, we went downstairs to lunch, and there was just something about the two of us where we were kind of on the same wavelength in a lot of different ways," said Steele. "They all thought Will Ferrell was a dud. But you know, I just, I knew that Will was not the dud."
Ferrell added, "You were just an ambassador for me to be like, 'No, don't write him off. He's actually really funny.'"
The 57-year-old eventually found his footing and starred on the show for seven years before leaving in 2002 to star in various Hollywood films including Old School, Elf, and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.