Will Ferrell's no stranger to iconic comedy roles, but one of his most recognizable stints almost made him second-guess his career when he was taking on the role of Buddy in 2003's holiday classic Elf. In the flick, Ferrell portrays a human who was raised by Santa's eves in the North Pole and travels to New York City to locate his birth father, played by James Caan.
It was while stopping by The Late Late Show With James Corden that he reflected on the times shooting the film: "The first two weeks of shooting were kind of all the exteriors in New York. So, still kind of discovering what this movie's gonna be and running around New York City in yellow tights. People recognizing me from Saturday Night Live going, 'You OK? What's going on?'"
The comedic veteran goes on to rembember that he felt the film would eighter be a "home run" or career-ending stunt. 15 years, it's clear just which of those options turned out to tbe the truth. Ferrell also expressed that he wasn't the only one with doubts, recalling a conversation he had with co-star James Caan.
"He's like, 'Hey, I gotta tell you something. Every day on set I thought you were way too over the top, but now I see what you were doing. Great job,'" Ferrell said through laughter. "I just love the thought that there we were, working every day, and he's going back to his hotel room going, 'Geez, get me out of this one.' That was fun."