“I don’t get you. You’re not funny.”
Will Ferrell is considered to be one of the most successful comedians of all time, with a host of hilarious titles from Step Brothers to Anchorman to his name.
However, Hollywood legend James Caan apparently just didn’t get the hype.
In an interview on the MeSsy podcast, Ferrell shared that the late Godfather actor didn’t seem to get his humour while filming his classic Christmas comedy Elf.
“James Caan — may he rest in peace, and we had such a good time working on that movie — he would tease me,” the 57-year-old told podcast hosts Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
“We’d be in between setups, he was like, ‘I don’t get you. You’re not funny. You’re not funny.’ And I’m like, ‘I know! I’m not Robin Williams.’
“He’s like, ‘People ask me, “Is he funny?” And I’m like, “No, he’s not funny!” It was all with love.”
For those who have seen the film, Caan’s real-life reaction makes sense, as he did such a good job as Walter, the biological father to Ferrell’s Buddy, who had somewhat of a different temperament after being raised in the North Pole by elves.
“I love that the whole time, he’s not acting,” Ferrell added, per Entertainment Weekly.
“He’s truly annoyed with me. Like, ‘Will this guy shut the f— up? Jesus!’ So I literally drove him crazy in that movie, just acting like that kid.”
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In the end, though, Caan could see the vision.
“We were walking out of the theatre at the premiere, and we walk out together, and he was like — I take it as like the best compliment, cuz he’s coming from James Caan — he’s like, ‘I gotta 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.
“That was so funny, he’s walking out, shaking his head, going like, ‘Great job. I thought you were way too over the top. But no, it’s brilliant.'”
The 57-year-old went on to reveal how Caan impacted the original story, and altered Walter’s character so that he was less overtly angry throughout the movie.
“It was scripted a little more that he would get more frustrated and lose his temper with me, and he didn’t wanna do any of that,” Ferrell said.
“He wanted to save it til that moment in the boardroom where he kicks me out and kicks me out of this life, like, ‘No, it’s gotta be this slow build.’ And he was totally right. He had plotted where his performance was gonna go.”
