Be Free, Be Yourself, and Be Crazy with Will Ferrell

IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson - Higher Ground

Will Ferrell shares stories from his childhood, SNL career, and parenting journey in a candid conversation with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. The episode blends humor, personal growth, and heartfelt advice on family

Key takeaways

• Shower caps are essential for makeup-free shirt changes

Transcript preview

Then I did Harry Carey at a play reading doing a play reading. It was emotionally wrought like like Eugene O'Neill type like like damn it Carol What happened to us? Like who's afraid of Virginia Wool and like I thought we still love this other? You're breaking my heart? Look at me. Don't turn away This episode is brought to you by Chase Home Lending. Hey little girl. Hi Craig, how are you? I'm really fine. I'm excited. That's good. Now we will caution our listeners. You do have a bit of a cough. An allergy cough. I have an allergy cough, but we're narrowing down. They could be an air conditioning cough. I either need a scar for me. Oh, maybe I'll put my hood on. Don't do that. Don't do that. Because you'll get makeup on your hood. Oh, that's right. Oh, yeah, I got makeup on my head. You're not used to wearing makeup. You know, I'm not used to it. And why don't we give our listeners a little inside baseball on what? On what? On changing when you have makeup on my strategy? You know, my strategy of my strategy? You know, again, you think it's a new strategy. Please share as if you've discovered air. So I went home after one of my early taping in season one and there was makeup all over my shirts and my wife Kelly said, hey what happened here and I was like, oh I was changing my shirt and got makeup on it. She was like, oh, let me give you a little hint. Use a shower cap. Put it over your head and face. Take your shirt off. Put it back on. Wow, it worked. Tell us more. Really? I never thought of that. Unless you're in show business or something, how would you know that? Being a woman? Or a woman, but a guy, a guy, a guy, you have to know, you have to be in show business. But that's why I'm saying, see when men discover something, they talk about it like, I just figured this out. Oh, gosh. So yeah, thank you. Listen, there's some inside baseball and how Craig Robinson, thank you for sharing. Well we've got a fun, fun conversation happening, one of my favorite comedians, one of my favorite people on TV. I will talk about this, but my favorite movie on the planet of all time, the only movie that I watch again and again and again, this man was in, we'll talk about it when he comes on, but I don't think I've ever told him. Oh, okay. All right, because I know what it is. introduce our guest, Will Farrell. All right, Will Farrell is an acclaimed actor, writer, and producer behind some of films most iconic comedies and a seven-year Saturday Night Live standout, widely regarded as one of the show's greatest cast members. He is also the co-founder of Gloria Sanchez Productions. This summer, he will saw in the first scripted comedy series The Hawk for Netflix. which you and I both watch the first two episodes and we're cracking up in which he plays a fictional golf legend which this will be interesting because I'm not a golfer as you know. Okay let's get him out here. Without further do, Mr. Will Farrell. sister dynamic where there's always just a little edge of arguing underneath it. Right, okay, yes. It's just a little edge of, oh my big brother. And by the way Craig, I did know about the shower cap. Thank you. Thank you. Another reason, why would he know Craig? Do you know why he would know? Exactly. Well, no, because my mother would give us a shower cap every Christmas, a new shower cap. For the reason you just described. It's like honey. So she was way ahead of the curve. Yeah. She raised you to be an independent man knowing about shower caps. We haven't met, but we were in the same place together at one of the White House parties. Right. And I want to see if you remember this because I think that you were doing this on purpose, but my wife is like, uh-uh. No, is he? And you were walking around the White House, the straightest of faces not looking at anyone like this. Uh oh. And I said... Do you remember that? I'm doing that. I'm trying to piece it together. I could never forget it because I know it was you and I have a witness to go along with it. And I was like, he's doing some sort of gag or bit. This before I knew what bit was. Right. Now that I'm in show business. I know what the term bit means. And I wouldn't have said bit back then. but that's what I meant. And you had the straight face, you were dressed like you had come to a party. Right. But was it not a party? It was a party. There were like 300 people that you've been to those parties. Sure, sure, sure, sure. You said not one word to anybody for the time that I saw you. Not one word and everybody's talking, the music is going. And you had the straight face. And I looked over at my wife and I was like, see this dude is the funniest dude in the funniest dude in the world in the world in the world right world right world right here. getting credit for being funny without I know I was just having a chancy gardener moment no way no I don't know what you're talking about okay I wouldn't know that's fine I think I was just literally being a visitors to the White House okay yeah checking out sconcy there's enough on the White House checking out wallpaper this makes it even better thank you for being here oh my god my pleasure thanks for having me I love what you've done with it done with the place. Well yeah what do you think I mean you you're in this business you know what do you what do you think about you no no set designs you know atmosphere atmospherics it looks like does it feel like we're at home at the kitchen table? You must be sponsored by Plesi oh good I'm glad you pointed that out that's one of our drinks of Pertiesi it's like yeah it's a good drink hydration drink I hope it is yeah it's amazing it's amazing but it's good and my team didn't realize this when we were just sitting down getting ready for you to come because I don't know if I and said that because we were saying that you left Saturday Night Live yeah one of the reasons was because you have you you knew this project about Santa Claus and you know you the idea of was it sort of what was that I left I'd been there seven years and you know you have to leave at some point unless you're Keenan. He's still there. He doesn't leave. And he's literally the only one who could pull it off and still be there and you love seeing him every time. Yeah. Now, short of Keenan, yeah, you are thinking about a time of like, when's a good moment to fly the coop, so to speak. And it just felt like I'd had enough momentum, but it's not like I had a stack of scripts waiting for me. we were developing this one movie about a human who was raised by elves at the North Pole and it was an amazing concept but it needed a lot of work and so we kind of rewrote the whole thing and but that it but it's such an interesting thing to have become what it's become. I know. I'm sitting in New York in my little tiny trailer because that was one of my first bigger movies but it was still a little tiny trailer looking in the mirror dressed as Buddy the Elf in my yellow tights going what did I what was I think but literally buddy this could be this could be it this could be it could be it this could be the end right here this is either a home run or a complete strikeout and people are gonna be like what happened to the guy on SN now it's pretty funny I had like lightning in a bottle but we we did it is my favorite movie of all time I mean it really is I I don't rewatch movies yeah but it is hilarious every other second and it is so sweet and it does all the things it presses all the buttons so whenever I want to feel better I know literally and then I make other people watch it with me Oh my God, is the angry, you know. And so, it was a, it's a, it's a, it is a thing for a reason and, you know, the level of sweetness and all that. How do you, how do you like for a character like Buddy, do you know what, you know, you want to do with him before you put on that Elkh costume and those tights? Because we shot, we shot, we shot, we shot, we shot, we shot, we shot Buddy. discovering New York, all the exterior stuff first. We shot two weeks in New York and then the rest is all shot in Vancouver. So I had to quickly figure out and the game that we, and we kind of figured out at the script level, but that, okay, so what is the essence of this guy and I think he has to be, the kind of mundane world that we, he has to think it's the greatest experience ever and that's when I wrote the joke I was like you know those those just bodega type coffee shop places that say like world's best shop of coffee he literally thinks that's the truth so that when we burst in like congratulations you did it and then you know all the staff looking at me like what but you know you know don't eat candy when you go and him discovering the gum and like I can't resist it and just like yeah but not knowing that a taxi cab the yellow ones won't stop just like the wonderment the naive tay and I was like oh just I'm gonna I'm gonna lock into that and just he's just gonna be it's gonna be wondrous to him and then I just built upon that but it was like it was like hurry up and figure this guy out Moving into a new place is always a big moment. And thanks to Chase Home Lending with branches and home lending advisors right in your community, they can help you feel supported all the way home. You know, the home really becomes the foundation for family traditions, milestones, and lasting memories. And Meese, what are some of your favorite family traditions? that we used to do. You remember when dad used to make peppered steak? Yeah, that would be the one time he cooked. And once a year. And he would make apple pie. So, you know, and mom wouldn't such pie. Right. But dad made the apple pie. He made apple pie. And, but he would make the pepper steak once a year and he make apple pie once a year. And he made apple pie once a year. But the fact that dad would cook that became a special milestone. I loved our New Year's Eve tradition. mom would instead of having a full dinner we would stay up until midnight she would make all these little amazing orders you know those little cheese puffs on Ritz Crackers and you know smoked oysters and fondue I mean she would be trying out all of these Betty Crocker little appetizer recipes on us and it got so popular that our aunts and uncles who were young at the time stopped going out for New Year's even came over in our house. Yeah. Man, and it just reminds me of a few more traditions. You remember pumpkin carving? Every year we carve pumpkins and every Easter we decorated eggs. And hit them. Yes. Or mom would hide them. Yeah. So if you're ready to start your own journey, chase home lending is here to help you build a future, create lasting memories and feel connected to your community all the way home. Chase.com slash IMO to take your first step, member FDIC, equal housing opportunity. So the real Will Ferro. Right, right here. Like the guy that, you know, is not a character, you know, is just a man trying to walk around the White House looking at stuff without people thinking he's doing a bit. You don't have to laugh at her. You don't have to laugh at her. You don't. You don't have to laugh. You don't have to laugh. You don't have that moment. You know what I knew I was gonna like you when I was doing the research and I found out what a terrific athlete you were. Yes, thank you. I had no idea. Are you hearing that? Terrific athlete. Terrific athlete. Three sport. Four? Oh, what's a soccer. You play. Oh, you were kicker. Kicker on the team. That's right. I mean, I know that's why we forgot about it. Yeah, but you were captain of the basketball team. I was as the sixth man. Oh, now you know that says a lot. See, that's real leadership. Yes, that says a lot. Okay, tell us more. Because, yeah. Usually your captain is your best player, the sixth man. Yeah. To, to, usually your captain is your best player, How much? My point, point average. 13. 1.25. No way. Yes. That makes it even better. I only average like two points a game. So what was your role? Because I figured out I was I was defense I was rebounding. Okay. I usually guarded their better post player. Okay. And I was just Unselfish player Well, I think all of high school was formed. I mean, whether it was the locker room, whether it was the classroom, whether it was the classroom, whether I was benefited from a really funny group of friends. I used, I was, I described myself as a conscientious class clown because my mom's in education, so I like respected the teachers, but I would like, I'd goof around to a point if I got the eye, I'd be like, you got it, no problem. I'll shut it down. Keep talking. No, I'm enjoying the lecture. Yeah, no, aren't I? So I would like, I wouldn't know how to tip-to up to the line to where the administration, the vice-prin we would work out bits during the school assembly where I could make fun of the vice-principle, and he was like, hey, let's do that thing and you make fun of me and I'll give you a look. And so, we would do, we would do, do, we would do some, sketches. I do we do morning radio announcements that were so it was already like the beginnings of you know this is really fun but but I didn't dare dream yet because I grew up in entertainment my dad was is was a musician and I saw how up and down that was. He just wasn't any musician he. No yeah he played with the righteous brothers and toured around but he had a lot of like piano bars and and you know cocktail lounges where he'd have a gig for six months and then he's got to find a new gig I'm like why what happened what happened like nothing yeah they're they're done I'm like I just remember thinking oh I'm gonna get a real job yeah I don't know what that is but I'm gonna carry a briefcase and I'm gonna work in an office did you feel it did it feel unstable in the household because of your dead's sort of up and up and down in and out I mean my folks divorced at a pretty early age I mean they did a they did a really good job of kind of co-parenting but yeah there were you know they tried to make my brother and I feel as kind of middle class as we could but there were they were like if I knew I needed new basketball shoes we were gonna take all Saturday Yeah, I was like, I think I can go another month even though there was a whole, my dad would take us to like nine different places. And I thought it was such a drag. I looked back on it now and I was like, no, he's teaching us the value of dollar, yeah. Yeah. And really wise in a way, but a bummer when you're 15, yeah. But, but yeah. So I saw, yeah, I saw how, oh, yeah, I saw how, very much living hand-to-mouth and while my mom was putting herself through school, graduate school and so yeah I saw I saw that that was like I want more stability so so and I thought I was gonna be like a sports gasser I love sports so I thought the merge the merge of two things would be I'd be a talking head on E-SPN so yeah What did that feel like was there funny there were did you save the funny for school or was your mother also yes very funny were you getting on her nerves to probably both she's funny in her own way my dad obviously being an entertain he had a my mom and dad came from the small the same small town where was it they known each other since the second grade and uh... Rono Crapids north north car carlina so he was always the prankster growing up in school and that sort of thing so dad was and my mom had this really sly sense of humor and this and that so so yeah I think there was always us my brother and I putting on little shows in the living room and trying to be funny and being funny amongst our friends and I think that's like your first comedy crowd are your friends and then you kind of advance into going to parties walking around a room, not looking at anyone. No. No. I'll never leave this to the house. No, but we would go to, we would go to high school parties and mess with other, like we didn't go to really party, we would just start taking stuff out of the freezer of someone's, and microwaving me and like, okay, don't worry, we're, like, well, someone told us to start emptying the freezer. Like, just random, crazy. stuff like why? Someone told us to defrost all the meat in your freezer. I'm sorry. Were we not supposed to? Oh my God. And then we would just create havoc and then we go to another part. Like we just threw the weirdest dumbest stuff. How many were in