James Caan Didn’t Like Making ‘Elf’ With Will Ferrell

James Caan co-starred with Will Ferrell in the 2003 Christmas comedy movie Elf, and while many people would have assumed they had a great deal of fun during the shoot — reflective of the experience of watching the film unfold on the screen — Caan says that wasn’t the case.

In the movie, Ferrell plays Buddy, a human raised by Santa’s elves, who is highly obsessed about Christmas and, learning the truth about his birth, travels to New York City to meet his biological father, Caan’s character, Walter Hobbs.

James didn’t enjoy working with Ferrell on ‘Elf’

Ferrell had to put a lot of energy into his character to bring it to life, revealing in an interview with the Late Late Show with James Corden that his fellow cast members were not on the same page as him — especially his onscreen dad, who believed he was doing way too much.

“James Caan, just getting to work with him every day was kind of a pinch-me moment. But, he came up to me at the premiere, and, you know, it had gone great. People were, like, ‘This is going to be fantastic,’ and then [Caan] is like, ‘Hey, I gotta tell you something,’” Ferrell shared. “He said, ‘Every day on set, I thought you were way too over the top. But now I see what you’re doing. Great job.’ I just love the thought that there we were, working every day, and he’s going back to his hotel going, ‘Jeez, get me out of this one.’”

‘Elf’ was a commercial success

The 2003 movie grossed $226 million worldwide with its initial production budget of $33 million and has an approval rating of 86% based on 202 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Ferrell’s brilliant performance in Elf can not be overemphasized, and it is not a surprise to see that the holiday comedy movie was voted the best Christmas film of the 21st century in 2017.