Will Ferrell Almost Didn’t Star in ‘Elf’ — Here’s Who Was Supposed to Play Buddy

Elf in lauded as one of the greatest Christmas films ever made. The family-friendly movie catapulted Will Ferrell to mainstream success, as it was his first lead role in a movie after he left Saturday Night Live in 2002. The 2003 Christmas comedy film was directed by Jon Favreau and written by David Berenbaum. Ferrell plays Buddy, a human raised by Santa’s elves. He learns about his adoption and that he’s not an elf, leading him to find his father in New York City to meet his biological father, played by James Caan. But had the screenwriter had his choice, Ferrell wouldn’t have been the comedian selected for the lead role. Berenbaum finished the first draft of Elf in 1993 with In Living Color alum, Jim Carrey in mind for the lead role, with a much darker undertone of the film — but Carey wasn’t meant to be in the role.

The version featuring Carey was never made, and the script sat idle for years. Ferrell discovered the script and decided to try it out after Old School. He was a close friend of Jon Favreau and asked him to assist with rewrites on the script, and he took the story with a darker undertone to the PG-rated version that eventually made it to theaters in the fall of 2003. It paid off, earning more than $225 million at the box office on a $33 million budget. Carey would go on to make his own iconic Christmas film, How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000, which earned $345 million against a $125 million budget.

Elf featured other comedy heavy hitters, including Faizon Love. Love refers to the film as one of his most cherished in his career because of the fans’ admiration for the movie. He also speaks highly of the director, telling Vlad TV in a 2020 interview, “The [success of the film] was because of Jon Favreau. He wrote Couples Retreat for me too,” Love also added, “The guy who produced Elf stars as the kid in The Christmas Story…that was my crew.” 

Fans have asked for a sequel to the film, which Ferrell has rejected. Ferrell starred in two other popular holiday films, Daddy’s Home 2, and Spirited, the latter alongside Octavia Spencer and Ryan Reynolds.