Will Ferrell opened up about his initial rejection on Saturday Night Live. With his new documentary, Will & Harper, streaming on Netflix, the actor recalled his early days in the industry and claimed that his peers on SNL assumed Ferrell wasn’t funny.
The Barbie actor opened up about his experiences in the entertainment circle in the documentary with his longtime friend and SNL writer, Harper Steele.
The documentary features Ferrell taking a road trip through the countryside with Steele after coming out to the world as a transwoman.
Ferrell told Steele about his journey, “I was trying to get to know everyone and there was a bunch of people looking at me and saying, we don’t understand what this guy is. Does. He doesn’t look so funny.”
Soon the writer-producer quipped, “That first week we went down for lunch and there was something between the two of us where we were on the same wavelength in a lot of different ways.”
She added, “They all thought Will Ferrell was an idiot. But you know, I just knew that Will was not an idiot.”
As the friends wandered through cities and the outskirts, the Anchorman actor revealed that at various points in his life he would use his fame to break up relationships with strangers. Steele and Ferrell also discussed personal and emotional topics as they discussed their lives and Steele’s identity as she finally lives as herself.
Also read: Will Ferrell says he wouldn’t go back to comedy again: ‘I just wouldn’t choose to do it’
Speaking about the difficulties he faced in accepting his true identity, Harper confessed to the Elf actor, “My entire writing career, my entire creative life, I played as a character named Andrew. At least that’s how I think about it. And so it was especially hard to come out to my friends and I can’t really tell if they think I’m Harper, I think they might think that. I’m still Andrew and now I wear clothes.
In addition to these two, other SNL collaborators included in the Will & Harper documentary include show creator Lorne Michaels, Fred Armisen, Tina Fey, Will Forte, Colin Jost, Tim Meadows, Seth Meyers, Tracy Morgan, Paula Pell, Molly Shannon. Kristen Wiig, and others.
Will & Harper is available to watch on Netflix.
Also read: ‘Why is he a threat to you?’: Will Ferrell confronts transphobia while exploring friendship and acceptance in Will & Harper’s new Netflix documentary
