Will Ferrell and his co-star improvised one of Elf’s most iconic scenes at the behest of director Jon Favreau, Mark Acheson told People.
Acheson appears alongside Ferrell as “Mailroom Guy” in the classic Christmas comedy, released in 2003. The two share a single but memorable scene in which Ferrell’s naive Buddy the Elf is sent by his corporate publisher father (James Caan) to work sorting mail to get him out of his hair. Acheson, 67, recalled speaking with his agent about the role, which was originally supposed to be much smaller.
“I called my agent and he said, ‘Listen, they would like you to come and do one line with Will Ferrell. Would you like to do it?’ And I said, yeah, I’d be happy to do that. I was only supposed to say, ‘work release,’ and that was the end of it,” Acheson said.
When Favreau encouraged the actor to improvise more dialogue, Acheson obliged and created one of the movie’s most memorable lines when he tells Ferrell he’s 26 years old and has “nothing to show for it.” The actor went on to improvise a memorable run with the former SNL star while the two are drinking whiskey in the mail carts.
“The producers wanted to axe the whole scene because of that,” Acheson said. “I think [they were thinking], ‘Who is gonna believe this guy is 26?’ I mean, seriously. I believe I was 46 at the time and an older 46, even at that. Because I never looked young in my life,” he laughed.
But Acheson said, “Jon Favreau fought for it. He said that the joke, that’s the funny part, right? He kept me in but they, they didn’t want me. But he did, and thank God for me because it changed my career quite a bit.”
Indeed, Acheson’s career did pick up pace after his appearance in Elf. He nabbed small but prominent roles in movies like Hot Rod (2008) and Watchmen (2009) while appearing in dozens of television shows, such as Psych and The X-Files. His most recent role was as Old Clemson in Peter Pan and Wendy (2023).
Elf is available to stream on Hulu and Max with subscriptions and to rent on all major rental platforms.
