Will Ferrell Admits Not Knowing What to Say After Friend Harper’s Transition (Exclusive)

Will Ferrell, Harper Steele, and director Josh Greenbaum are discussing their new documentary “Will & Harper” with “Extra’s” Melvin Robert.

After Will’s good friend of 30 years Harper came out as a trans woman, the two took a road trip to bond and explore a new chapter in their relationship.

Will said of the trip with Harper, “She loves this country, and it was a chance to see if this country loves her back.” He joked, “And selfishly, I hadn’t driven across country. That was the real reason.”

Harper recalled the initial email she sent to Will and rewriting it over and over before finally sending it. She said, “It was just a way to let people know that I was going to be transitioning to my real self.”

“When you put yourself out there like that, you don’t necessarily want everyone to come and write you long letters back, you just want everyone to say very quickly, ‘I see you. I love you,’ and that’s what my buddy Will here did,” Harper noted.

In the doc, Will admitted not knowing exactly what to say. He told Melvin, “So then that turns into paralysis and nothing is said, and that’s the worst.”

He praised Harper for giving him grace to “stumble my way through asking these questions.” He said, “Some of them I ask in the right way, some of them I don’t. I’m not using the correct vernacular, but she allows me to make these mistakes.”

Will and Harper recalled what first bonded them when working together in their early “SNL” days back in 1995. Will was the scene-stealing comedian, and Harper, then Andrew, was head writer.

Harper commented, “He was kind of boring, he was kind of like stiff… He wasn’t trying to make everyone around him laugh, and I like that kind of like mystery and a little bit of subtleness.” But she added, “When he performed on camera, it was immediate.”

Will shared his two cents, saying, “We reminded ourselves constantly that we’re on a comedy show, we should have fun. Let’s have joy in what we do, and let’s remind everyone else to not take it seriously, and that was our bond.”

Josh spoke about working with Will and Harper as the director, noting that Harper has been doing cross-country road trips for years. “We just try to keep ahead,” he said. “And it was just such a joy to be along for the ride and listening in to their conversations that would go from incredibly funny to incredibly deep and then back all at once, and it was, it was a real privilege to be along.”