A little piece of advice: If you run into Will Ferrell on the way to the bathroom, keep your opinions on him to yourself.
The prolific comedy actor appeared on Monday’s episode of “Happy Sad Confused” and was asked by host Josh Horowitz about his worst fan encounter. That’s when “The Hawk” actor shared a hilarious story about a woman who told him she thought he was “very funny” but that he was no Larry David.
“I was at a restaurant. I was walking to the bathroom and I just happened to be in lockstep with this woman who looks up and is like, ‘Oh, hi. How are you?’” he explained.
“’You’re very funny … but you’re no Larry David.’ And, I go, ‘Oh, well, yeah.’ I kind of chuckled. I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me? He’s one of the best. He’s a king.’”
However, the conversation didn’t end there. Ferrell said he happened to run into the same woman on his way back from the bathroom, and for some reason she “picks up where she left off.”
“She’s like, ‘I’m serious. You’re no Larry David. You’re not even close to him,’” he added. “And then I’m like, ‘Okay. Oh, we’re going there, right?’”
At that point, Ferrell said what often surprises people is that he has the ability to stand up for himself when someone crosses a line, despite the pleasant and kind demeanor he’s known for.
“So I was like, ‘You know what? I get it. You like Larry David. Why don’t you go back to your table and shut up?’” the “Step Brothers” star added as he mimicked the woman’s taken aback expression.
“I know she was back … I know the B side of that was like, ‘I just met that Buddy the Elf. He’s an assh–e,’” Ferrell said with laugh. “Her version probably was, ‘I just told him I love Larry David.’”
The “Anchorman” actor also added that sometimes, if he’s feeling “cheeky,” he’ll pull someone’s leg when they approach him.
“I’ve had moments where I had one guy go, ‘I don’t care what they say. I think you’re hilarious,’” he explained. “And I said, “Well, thank you, but what are they saying? He’s like, ‘What?’ No, you said, ‘I don’t care what they say.’ Well, who’s they? No, let’s sit down and talk about it. Right. No, I want to break it down. Who’s they? Give me the list.”
Ferrell can currently be seen in Netflix’s “The Hawk.” In the show, Ferrell stars as Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins, a washed-up golf legend trying to make a chaotic comeback.
You can watch Ferrell’s full “Happy Sad Confused” interview in the video above.
