Over 20 years later, Elf is still celebrated as one of the best Christmas movies of all time. You could also say it’s one of Will Ferrell’s funniest movies, playing a man who was raised by elves in the North Pole, only to venture into New York City for the first time to meet his birth father. But hen the SNL alum first put on Buddy the Elf’s costume, his first thought was “What was I thinking?”
After seven years on SNL, Will Ferrell established his status as a comedic leading man with the frat comedy Old School. But when his next project followed the holiday flick Elf, the Superstar actor got real on IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson about not knowing what to think the first time he put on the Buddy the Elf costume:
- Will Ferrell: Looking in the mirror, dressed as Buddy the Elf in my yellow tights going…
- Michelle Obama: What was I thinking?
- Will Ferrell: Literally, ‘Buddy, this could be it. This could be the end, right here. This is either a home run or a complete strikeout.’ And people are gonna be like, ‘What happened to the guy on SNL? He’s pretty funny.’ So, I had no idea that we had lightning in a bottle. But we did.
Imagine what a trip that must have been for Ferrell to see a grown man in the mirror wearing a pointed green-and-yellow hat and yellow tights. I can understand where the American comedian was coming from, with fears that a movie where you see an adult man playing a live-action elf can either bomb or be praised by audiences.
Fortunately, the Jon Favreau movie ended up being considered a favorite among 2000s movies, with channels like TBS, AMC, and TNT running marathons of the Christmas classic each holiday season. What also convinced the Kicking and Screaming actor that Elf would be a winner was when he previously said frat boys from USC praised the holiday comedy in its second screening. How can you not love it?
On Michelle Obama’s podcast, Ferrell also explained that what helped him best ease into Elf was finding ways to make the character so human and entertaining for audiences. He described wanting to emphasize Buddy’s naivety and wonderment at going to New York City, like his excitement at seeing a cafe’s sign of “The World’s Best Cup of Coffee.”
Another fun fact about Elf was that the Anchorman actor improvised a lot of his lines, which helped make the jolly character authentic. One example is when he interrogated Santa at the mall. Ferrell was truly born to play the role of Buddy the Elf, with his performance all the more enjoyable each and every rewatch.
Will Ferrell’s Buddy costume was so iconic that even actors like Glen Powell dress up as Buddy in 2023, which is making me wish he’d play Buddy’s son in a sequel. Even Ferrell himself made the viral decision to don his character’s signature attire again at a Los Angeles Kings game last year. However, the Golden Globe nominee hilariously portrayed him as a sad elf chugging a beer and smoking a fake cigarette, which left some fans majorly unhappy. But hey, we can still find the hilarity in Ferrell’s whimsical decision and still love Buddy every year.
The “Frat Pack” member may not have known what to think when he first put on Buddy the Elf’s yellow tights. But luckily, the fish-out-of-water movie is seen every year as a beloved holiday classic fit for the whole family to watch and love. And there’s no better actor to portray Buddy spreading Christmas cheer than Ferrell himself.