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New York Post
Will Ferrell’s ‘SNL’ co-stars didn’t find him funny, head writer reveals: ‘All thought he was a dud’
By Alexandra Bellusci,
21 hours ago
Look who’s having the last laugh.
Will Ferrell’s “Saturday Night Live” co-stars were skeptical about his comic abilities when he first joined the legendary sketch show back in 1995.
“I was trying to get to know everyone and there was a group of people who were looking at me and were like, we don’t get what this guy does. He doesn’t seem that funny,” the now 57-year-old recalled in the new Netflix documentary “Will & Harper.”
The film, which follows Ferrell and former “Saturday Night Live” head writer Harper Steele on a cross-country road trip, sees the longtime pals reminiscing about their first week at the job.
Steele, who started on the show the same week as Ferrell, admitted she also heard that cast members didn’t think the comedian was particularly impressive.
Will Ferrell is pictured in the “Always &Forever” skit on “Saturday Night Live,” which aired October 7, 1995 — Ferrell’s second week on the show. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Will Ferrell speaks onstage during the “Will & Harper” NY Special Screening at The Paris Theater on September 24, 2024 in New York City. Getty Images for Netflix
“That first week we went downstairs to lunch and there was just something about the two of us where we were kind of on the same wavelength in a lot of different ways,” Steele stated. “They all thought Will Ferrell was a dud. But you know, I just, I knew that Will was not the dud.”
After departing in 2002, he went on to star in blockbuster films, including “Elf” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.”
Steele, meanwhile, stayed at “SNL” until 2008.
But in the years since, the pair have continued to collaborate on comedies such as “Eurovision Song Contest,” “Casa de Mi Padre” and “A Deadly Adoption.”
John Goodman as Ted, Will Ferrell as Hank, Alec Baldwin as drunk salesman during the “Bull & Bear” skit on the December 12, 1998 edition of “SNL.” NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Tracy Morgan as Walt Dupree, Will Ferrell as Tom Bergeron, Cameron Diaz as Danika Sharpe during “The New Hollywood Squares” skit on September 26, 1998. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
“If you’ve ever scratched your head and said, ‘Why did Will Ferrell make that?’ there’s a good chance it was with Steele,” Ferrell says in the new documentary, describing the writer as having a “super weird, creative sense of humor.”
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