CNN
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Christmas might be over, but we’re still thinking about that moment from long-ago December when Will Ferrell inexplicably dressed up as one of his most iconic characters. Now he’s explaining why he did.
On Friday’s episode of the “New Heights” podcast 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-classic 2003 holiday film “Elf” – at an LA Kings hockey game at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on December 29.
“I get these weird ideas every now and then,” he told the Kelce brothers, later adding, “I told my wife, ‘Over the break, it would be funny if I just got a Buddy the Elf costume and didn’t shave for like a week, and I’m just sitting there with a candy cigarette and I’m just gonna sit there for a period and see how people react.’ And that was it.”
Ferrell clearly committed to the stunt, as pictures from the game display him scowling and sporting a five o’clock shadow, drinking a beer and ‘smoking’ a faux cigarette.
“Buddy the Elf got laid off, I think, from the North Pole,” Ferrell said on the podcast this week of his motivation for Buddy’s downtrodden vibe, adding, “He’s having a pull from his beer, smoking a cig.”
“Elf” was directed by Marvel and “Star Wars” maestro Jon Favreau and starred Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenbergen and Peter Dinklage, along with the late James Cann, Ed Asner, and Bob Newhart.
The film became an instant holiday classic, and follows Buddy, who was raised among Santa’s elves in the North Pole, as he searches for his real father in New York City.
The funnyman wasn’t expecting the reaction he got from his “Elf”-related lark.
“The reaction was insane!” Ferrell said. “Like, ‘What is he doing? Is he promoting something?’ But occasionally I just like to do weird things like that just to stir it up.”
Keep stirring, Buddy.
CNN’s Alli Rosenbloom contributed to this report.
