Will Ferrell has revealed James Caan told him he wasn’t “funny” while they were filming Elf.

In a new interview for Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s MeSsy podcast, Ferrell admitted his co-star Caan questioned his portrayal of the now iconic Christmas character Buddy.

While the pair got along well on set, the late actor told Ferrell he didn’t get his humour.

“James Caan, may he rest in peace, we had such a good time working on that movie,” Ferrell said. “He would tease me. Christina, you know… In between set ups, Caan would be like, ‘I don’t get you. You’re not funny.’ And I’m like, ‘I know. I’m not Robin Williams.'”

Ferrell added, “And he was like, ‘People ask me: “Is he funny?” And I’m like, “No, he’s not funny.”‘ It was all with love, but at the same time….”

However, Caan changed his mind once he had watched the final edit of the hit 2003 movie and finally understood Ferrell’s goofy performance.

As the pair walked out of the Elf premiere together, Ferrell revealed Caan didn’t hold back in his praise for his co-star.

“He was like, ‘I’ve got to 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. “But I love that the whole time, he’s not acting… I literally drove him crazy in that movie, just acting like that kid. But that was the funniest thing, him walking out of the theatre and shaking his head and going, ‘It’s brilliant.'”

In Elf, Ferrell played Santa’s oversized helper Buddy, who leaves the North Pole and travels to New York City to find his biological father – played by Caan.

Ferrell has admitted he had doubts about the storyline and worried it could signal the end of his career if it bombed at cinemas.

“I was just looking at myself in the mirror in the elf costume going, ‘Oh, boy, buddy, this better work. This could be your last movie,'” Ferrell shared. “I literally had no idea. I was like, ‘This is either going to really work or this is just going to be disastrous.'”

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