Setting Boundaries When It Comes to ‘Private’ Parts: Jon Heder joked there was a clause in their contracts that said “No less than 2 centimeters” when it came to their private parts. Ferrell added, “I had a restraining order against his crotch. We really didn’t talk about it, did we?” “I think, all in all, it ended up being mostly effects,” answered Heder.” Ferrell wound up the crotch conversation by saying, “That was a stunt crotch. I don’t think I touched his crotch.”
And speaking of close proximity, Ferrell says his boob-grabbing scene with Jenna Fischer was improvised. “That was ad-libbed. I just thought, ‘This will be fun. I’m just going to do it,’ and 80 takes later… (Laughing) I had to get it right. And, it remained in the movie.”
The Comic Chemistry Between Ferrell and Heder: One’s an established actor with a solid career, the other’s a rising star in the field of comedy films, but according to Ferrell the chemistry was instantaneous. “We met in the parking lot of Pickwick Ice Rink in Burbank,” explained Ferrell. “It was like, ‘Hey, nice to meet you.’ ‘Yeah, you too.’ ‘This should be fun, right?’ ‘It’s going to be hard, huh?’ ‘You don’t know how to skate, do you?’ ‘No.’ ‘I don’t either.’ ‘Okay, I’ll see you later.’ (Laughing) That was kind of it.” Heder added, “I was like, ‘I’ve got to lift you?”
The Need to Strip on Film: Because of a few of his recent role choices, we’ve seen a lot of Ferrell onscreen. And by ‘a lot’ I mean Ferrell in various states of undress. But the actor doesn’t look for the chance to strip something off when he reads a script. “No, I actually hope that there isn’t.” However Blades of Glory presented Ferrell with yet another opportunity to go shirtless. “In this one, I kind of do a version of it with the tattoo thing, which I thought was really funny that you reveal this stupid life story through tattoos. (Laughing) But we got to make some crazy, funny tattoos. That was amazing. And, in fact, we were just laughing that Jimmy has no sense of the fact that there’s this gross guy with his shirt off. He’s just wrapped in the story, like, ‘Really, wow, cool. What’s that one?’”
Ferrell was even tempted to keep a couple of his tattoos for a while, including the one his character gets of Heder’s character. “I was. That was the funniest thing. The make-up tattoos are so real looking and they last for a good couple of days, so I would forget. On the weekends, I’d have these weird tattoos. My wife would be like, ‘Oh, gross, what is that?’ ’It’s just a wolf. I’m the lone wolf.’”
Spandex Skating Costumes vs Elfin Tights: It’s hard to erase the image of Ferrell in his tights from Elf. Asked to compare the experience of Elf to wearing interesting – and tight – ice skating attire for Blades of Glory, Ferrell said, “Well, they were very similar. The elfin tights were actually quite functional. A lot of times in that movie, it was very cold where we were filming, so I was actually thankful to have them. The lycra suits, I was thankful to have them in a different sense, just for the character, because they were funny looking.”
Heder’s costumes were even more extravagant in Blades of Glory and included one resembling a peacock, which he had no problem saying yes to. “I remember seeing it in the design, but I always forgot about it because it’s so light, and I never saw it,” said Heder. “People would say something and I’d be like, ‘Oh, that’s right, I’ve got feathers back there.’ So no, I did not draw the line.”
On the Design of Their Ice Skating Outfits: “We had a little bit [of input],” said Ferrell. “Julie Weiss, who’s the wardrobe designer, is kind of a mad genius, in a way. She’d be like, ‘I found this leather jacket in the hatchback of my neighbor’s car. Try it on.’ You’d be like, ‘Oh, it’s perfect.’ ‘I knew it! You’re going to wear that today.’ She really designed these amazing [costumes]. She would call me on the phone and ask me things like, ‘What would your character keep in a duffle bag?’ (Laughing) ‘I don’t know yet. I haven’t even thought about it.’ She was like, ‘I see you as a cross between Steven Tyler and this person or that person.’ But, yeah, in terms of the skater stuff, she totally designed all that.”
Heder added, “The peacock outfit was kind of my idea because we had seen clips and footage of other skaters, just to study and research, and Johnny Weir had this swan outfit. It was kind of a famous routine. It was very serious, but the glove was a swan. I was like, ‘That would be funny to do, but do it as a peacock.’ Skaters are very much like peacocks. It was amazing. I just remember throwing that idea out, and then the next thing I knew, she had this bejeweled glove and the eye and everything. It was like, ‘Wow!’”
”The first time I saw him in his outfit, I was really jealous,” joked Ferrell. “I was like, ‘Aw, you’re a peacock. Of course. You get a gloved hand and everything. I’m only fire.’”
Page 2: On the Importance of Hair Styles, Kissing Jenna Fischer, and Performing in Front of a Large Crowd
