Will Ferrell fans will see the beloved comedian’s heart in a new documentary film about his friendship with a longtime friend who recently came out as a transgender woman. Variety reports Will & Harper, which debuted at Sundance, follows the Elf star’s cross-country road trip with his best friend Harper Steele, who recently came out as transgender. The project was recently sold to Netflix. The film was directed by Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar filmmaker Josh Greenbaum. It received two standing ovations following its screenings at the festival.
Ferrell and Steele’s friendship dates back to the ’90s. They were hired at Saturday Night Live in differing roles as a performer and writer. Steele worked as a writer on the sketch comedy series for 13 years, and later co-wrote Ferrell’s Eurovision Song Contest, as well as other films of Ferrell’s. Steele first came out as a trans woman in 2022 at age 61. Her work on SNL earned her a Primetime Emmy in 2002, as well as four Writers Guild of America Awards.
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The documentary chronicles their trip from New York to California over 17 days. Throughout the trip, they enjoy NBA games, dive bars, highway diners, dirt track races, and other places where Steele hopes to feel more comfortable going since her transition.
“We are thrilled about how audiences received the movie with open arms at Sundance,” the filmmakers said in a statement about the documentary. “It’s a movie about the power of friendship and acceptance, that we hope can help shift the culture, and so we are excited to have a partner in Netflix that has the ability to reach the largest possible audience worldwide.”
Steele says the documentary served as a confidence booster. “What the doc did for me was give me a little more confidence as a trans woman. I will say you probably don’t want to be overly confident,” she said, as reported by Deadline. “I’m still a little leery of what I would do in my 20s and 30s when I was performing male, but I think I am a lot more confident and I think this documentary helped me immensely in that sense.”
