Will Ferrell Reveals His Real Name Is John, Which Embarrassed Him At School

Will Ferrell

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Will Ferrell has revealed why he doesn’t go by his birth name.

At the end of the latest episode of Christina Applegate and Jamie Lynn Sigler’s podcast MessyFerrell participated in a game where his Presenter co-star analyzed his personality based on his choices for his top five favorite movies. After noting that Ferrell chose ensemble films like The Godfather And The Shawshank Redemption“where someone would support you,” Applegate noted, indicating that the actor may have felt that growing up he didn’t have “a place to belong in a group.”

Ferrell confirmed that the analysis was “completely true” and shared an anecdote from his childhood. “You know what’s interesting about this analysis? It’s a minor detail, it’s not even really a trauma. I remember being very embarrassed because my real name is John. John William Ferrell,” he said.

“The first day of school, it was ‘John.’ Like John Farrell,” Elf The star continued: “It was so embarrassing for me to have to say, ‘Oh, my name is Will. My name is not John.’

Ferrell described the experience as “excruciating,” adding that he hated “having to remind the teacher that I’m not John.” He admitted that looking back, he was puzzled as to why it was “so embarrassing” to specify that his name was Will.

When Sigler asked him why he didn’t like his birth name, Ferrell explained that it was “not my choice” because his parents called him Will despite having chosen John as his first name.

Ferrell previously revealed his birth name during his appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2020. When the late-night host asked him if his name appeared on his passport as “William Ferrell,” the actor replied, “Get ready, this is viral time right here: John William Ferrell.” He also shared that his father, on occasion, uses the nickname “JW.”

Elsewhere in the podcast, Ferrell talked about taking a risk on Elf as one of his first major projects after his Saturday Night Live exit. “The script really needed some work, so I left (SNL) with the concept (of Elf“The story of an actor (but not necessarily a good script),” he recalls.

Ferrell reworked the script but still had doubts about the success of the now holiday classic. When Applegate and Sigler pointed out that the film wouldn’t have been possible without him as the star and his commitment to the character of Buddy the Elf, the actor said James Caan teased him on set for his performance.

“In between spats, he would say to me, ‘I don’t understand you, you’re not funny,’” Ferrell recalled. “People would ask me, ‘Is he funny? No, he’s not funny!’ It was always loving but at the same time (tough).”

Although Caan, who died in 2022 at age 82, didn’t understand Ferrell’s humor at the time of filming, he changed his mind after seeing the movie. “We were coming out of the theater at the premiere and he said to me — and this was the best compliment — ‘I have to tell you, everything you did in the movie was way over the top. Now that I see it in the movie, it’s awesome,'” Ferrell shared.

“I love that he’s not acting all the time. He’s really mad at me,” joked the Half brothers “I thought, ‘Can this guy shut up? My God!’ So I literally drove him crazy in this movie.”