CountRyan Reynolds’three daughtersamong the many who adoreWill Ferrell’s 2003 Christmas comedyElf.
In the new issue of PEOPLE, Reynolds, 46, saysJames, 7, Inez, 6, and Betty, 3. — the girls he shares with wifeBlake Lively, 35, who’sexpecting their fourth child— were “blown away” when they visited the set ofSpirited, his new comedy costarring Ferrell.
Part of the reason was Ferrell himself. “They’ve watchedElfabout 10,000 times,” Reynolds quips. The 2003 holiday comedy starsSaturday Night Livealum Ferrell, 55, as a human who was accidentally raised as an elf at the North Pole. As an adult, he sets out to New York City to find his true father. The fan-favorite film costarsZooey Deschaneland the lateJames Caan.
Referencing another (but very adult) Ferrell film, Reynolds adds jokingly, “My youngest Betty is obsessed withOld School.”
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Both stars say they were nervous to star in a musical. “It was just kind of a crazy journey with the sophistication levels of the songs, and the intricacies of the dancing,” says Ferrell. “They really pushed all of us to go beyond our limits in a way that was fun when it finally happened, but during the process we wondered if we were ever going to actually get there.”
Adds Reynolds, “I don’t think I ever would’ve done the movie had I known what was really in store for us. I don’t think I fully grasped it until we were in it. It’s like a nervous breakdown: you don’t know you’re having one until it’s over.”
They also agree on who’s the better singer out of the two. “Will, for sure,” says Reynolds, who got singing and dancingadvice from friend and frequent musical star Hugh Jackman. “I think he’s done a lot more of it than I have.”
“I think it’s just a scientific fact I am a better singer,” adds Ferrell who shares sons Magnus, 18, Mattias, 15, and Axel, 12, with his wife, Swedish-born actress Viveca Paulin. “Scientists have said it, it’s not me.”
The two men also discuss their Christmas traditions. “We throw a big Swedish Christmas party every year, which is great fun,” says Ferrell. “We sing songs in Swedish and we toast and the Swedish Santa comes and visits.”
As for Reynolds, he tells PEOPLE, “We go all out. Blake is obsessed with it, loves it. I am too. I love having Christmas. I like the lead up to it the most.”
For more on Reynolds and Ferrell, pick up the new issue ofPEOPLE.
source: people.com
