CNN
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Christmas may be over, but we still think of that time in December, long ago, when Will Ferrell inexplicably dressed as one of his most emblematic characters. Now he explains why he did it.
On Friday’s episode of “Podcast “New Heights” With brothers Travis and Jason Kelce, Ferrell discussed his thinking behind his decision to dress up as Buddy – the usually chipper elf from his now 2003 classic. holiday film “Elf” – during an LA Kings hockey game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on December 29.
“I have weird ideas from time to time,” he told the Kelce brothers, later adding: “I told my wife, ‘During the holidays, it would be funny if I just had a Buddy the Elf costume and I didn’t shave.’ for about a week, and I’m just sitting there with a sweet cigarette and I’m just going to sit there for a while and see how people react. And that was it.
Ferrell clearly engaged in this stunt, as in-game footage shows him scowling and sporting a five o’clock shadow, drinking a beer and “smoking” a fake cigarette.
“Buddy the Elf was fired, I think, from the North Pole,” Ferrell said on the podcast this week about his motivation for Buddy’s downtrodden vibe, adding, “He takes a sip of beer and smokes a cigarette.”
“Elf” was directed by Marvel and “Star Wars” maestro Jon Favreau and starred Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenbergen and Peter Dinklage, as well as the late James Cann, Ed AsnerAnd Bob Newhart.
The film became an instant holiday classic and follows Buddy, who grew up among Santa’s elves in the North Pole, as he searches for his real father in New York.
The comic didn’t expect the reaction he received from his “Elf”-related lark.
“The reaction was crazy! » said Ferrell. “Like, ‘What is he doing?’ Is he promoting something? But every once in a while, I just like to do weird things like that, just to stir things up.
Keep stirring, buddy.
CNN’s Alli Rosenbloom contributed to this report.