Will Ferrell: ‘I don’t know why transgender people should threaten me’

INhey, I’m asking Will Ferrell, does transphobia exist? He blinks, opens his mouth wide and shakes his head. “I think we are afraid of what we don’t know,” he replies quietly.

Ferrell is still getting used to questions like these. As a comedian and movie star, he spent decades living quietly behind a litany of absurd, fictional man-children. As viewers, we have control over this AnchormanRon Burgundy or Ricky Bobby z Nights of Talladegaor Buddy with Elf – large, flashy creations that whine, wonder and peacock. However, the man behind it all is more of a question mark. Think about it. Do you have any idea about Will Ferrell’s personal life and politics? So when asked about the state of the world – not as usual – whether it ever will be Stepbrothers continued – he says slowly, consciously and carefully. Funny man in a serious hat.

I’m asking Ferrell about transphobia because of the new documentary, Will and Harpernamed after the actor and his best friend of almost 30 years, comedy writer Harper Steele. In 2022, at the age of 61, Steele sent Ferrell a letter informing him that she was trans and had recently transitioned. “I am simply asking you, as my friend, to stand up for me,” Steele wrote. “If I find myself misgendered, please try to speak up on my behalf, that’s all I ask of you.”

Steele didn’t know what her loved ones would think or how differently she would be treated by them. She also worried about America – before she retired, she often traveled around the country and ventured into parts unknown, stumbled upon the dirtiest of far-off dive bars and befriended complete strangers. Wouldn’t that already be possible? In search of answers, she and Ferrell decided to go on a journey together, taking director Josh Greenbaum with them. The result is a touching yet melancholic portrayal of friendship and queerness, which will be available on Netflix from Friday.

“We met a lot of people who were just…” Ferrell searches for the right phrase, glancing at Steele. He finds it. “Who were just… ‘You are – you’re not a threat’.” The three of us are sitting in a hotel suite in London, Ferrell in a gray knit sweater, Steele in a pink blouse decorated with pearls. She wears multi-colored glasses and her hair is a flood of white waves.

“There is hate out there,” Ferrell continues. “It’s very real and in some situations very dangerous for transgender people.” He wonders about my original question. “But I don’t know why trans people would threaten me as a cis man. I don’t know why Harper is threatening me. There is gentle contact between the couple – there are lots of appreciative smiles. “It’s so weird to me because Harper finally… her. She is finally who she was always meant to be. Whether you can ultimately think about it or not, why should you care if someone is happy? Why are you threatened by this? If the trans community is a threat to you, I think it’s because of a lack of confidence and safety.”

First, I ask the reporters who interview me if they believe in me. Do they believe I exist? That I’m important? Because there are a lot of people in the liberal community who, for one reason or another, can’t deal with this

Harper Steele

Ferrell seems to pay attention to the seriousness in the room. “Well, that’s my poor answer,” he deadpans. He and Steele laugh. “It was good,” Steele says. “You should write a paper on this.”

Ferrell and Steele met in 1995 when they were hired by the respected American sketch show Saturday Night Live – Ferrell as performer, Steele as writer. They found each other quickly. “There were a lot of celebrities competing for the airspace,” Ferrell recalled. “And when I see it, I just back away.” He’s gained a bit of a reputation. “People were asking, ‘Hey, has anyone met this tall guy?’ He’s nice, but he doesn’t seem funny.”

Steele, however had he noticed him. They had a similar sense of humor and preferred unconventional, experimental comedy, which they later used in sketches they wrote together. “I later found out that she was my mini-lawyer without my knowledge,” Ferrell says. “She was reporting to a core group of people, I think it was like, ‘This guy is actually quite funny!’” The two ended up becoming close colleagues at the company. SNL and more – Steele has written many of Ferrell’s more outlandish projects, including a Spanish-language comedy My father’s house and a Netflix hit Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of the Fire Saga.

“Comedy is their love language,” Greenbaum tells me later. “That’s what they’re always committed to.” A director best known for his comedy about crazy buddies Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Marhe had known Ferrell and Steele for years Will and Harperand I hoped to honor the couple’s friendship in the film. However, this meant that the resulting work became a tonal rollercoaster – it was too comedic, and the seriousness of Steele’s journey was diluted; too heavy and you would lose the inherent lightness of both of its stars. For example, a joke about different flavors of Pringles was repeated. The longer clip where Ferrell was seen hiding in the air ducts of the International Spy Museum in Washington? Nickel plated.

There is also a large lack of appreciation for the political climate in which the film is made. There is one particularly wince-inducing scene in which Ferrell and Steele shake hands with an American politician at a basketball game in Indiana, only to later learn that he voted for a raft of anti-transgender legislation. However, this is an outlier in a film that emphasizes the personal over the political.

“We all knew it was going to be perceived as a political film and introduced into a political conversation,” says Greenbaum, “but at its core it’s a very pure, simple story of two friends. I think more hearts and minds can be changed and touched by this. In the climate we’re in, if you sense an agenda or sense someone’s trying to convince you of anything, you’ve lost half your audience. We by no means wanted to avoid politics, but it didn’t seem central to the story we were telling.”

Will and Harper it’s basically a movie of two halves. The most powerful half involves Steele’s journey as she uncovers years of private struggles and begins to piece together a new life. Then there’s Ferrell, who largely serves as a proxy for viewers at home who, even if they don’t care about trans people at all, may still have questions about trans identity that are usually tiptoed.

“It would be disingenuous not to point out that we were aware of the reach that Will Ferrell had,” Greenbaum says. “The fan base he has crosses all spectrums, but he also has a very traditionally heterosexual, cis-male brother (element). At some level we certainly want to reach that audience. But it was very important to me and Harper that we represented the queer community as well.”

They did it – while watching Will and Harperyou quickly remember how extraordinary it is that trans people actually talk about themselves, rather than being talked about on the evening news or by cisgender columnists. It’s even more remarkable to watch two trans women talk about their transitions, as Steele does during one stop on the road.

But I ask Steele whether she’s happy with the film’s somewhat apolitical stance. There is no polite, liberal transphobia here, for example. At least in the UK and US, the most aggressive voices in anti-transgender discourse come from people who otherwise claim to be left-wing. IN Will and HarperBut much of both Steele’s and Ferrell’s transphobia comes from worrying about their roots in rural Central America. Trump country, effectively. Is Steele aware of the second kind?

“Personally, they’re in the background of my head,” Steele says. “I certainly hear this voice in my country. New York Times is kind of the center of it – generally left-wing, but also very anti-trans at times. That’s weird…’ she trailed off. “That’s why I first ask reporters who interview me if they believe in me. Do they believe I exist? That I’m important? Because it’s not always part of the conversation. I like to start with this. Because there are a lot of people in the liberal community who, for one reason or another, can’t be convinced of that.”

But Will and Harper– he says – it wasn’t a film where you could dwell on it. “We just wanted to discuss what it’s like for two people who are friends – what it all means for us and for the development of our friendship. I needed him to see the joy I was experiencing.” Steele smiles. “I also wanted to show my friend that I’m still funny,” she laughs. – And probably funnier than him.

“Oh well,” Ferrell corrects, pouting and feigning offence. “I think it’s debatable.”

“Will & Harper” will be available to stream on Netflix from September 27