Will Ferrell feared his career would be "over" when he starred in 'Elf'.

Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell

Ferrell has joked that he worried the movie would be the end of his acting career if it hadn't become a smash hit.

He said: "I was literally filming that movie, running around the streets of New York, a grown man dressed as an elf, thinking to myself, 'If this movie doesn't work, it's over!'

"I was like, 'I just don't know if they're gonna buy me in this. Is it too saccharin? Is it gonna work?' There were moments where I was like, 'This is either gonna work really well or people are gonna go, 'What happened? Why did you dress up as an Elf?'"

Luckily for Will, the 2003 movie was a hit. However, there is one element of his career he does regret - not agreeing to join Vince Vaughn in 'The Wedding Crashers'.

He told US radio host Dan Patrick: "I read the script and I kinda was like, 'Great concept...' but I kinda turned that down. I don't even know if I saw the potential of how big that was gonna be."

Meanwhile, Will previously admitted he has "no sense" of how successful any of his movies will be.

Asked if he can tell if a film will be successful or not before it's release, he said: "Sadly no. I have still no sense whatsoever. My barometer hasn't gotten any sharper. I think anyone who says they know right away, they're lying.

"When you see the edited film, you just have to feel, 'We made something that feels different, fresh and new and it has a strong point of view.' It's up to the gods at that point.

"You never know when a movie is going to hit the zeitgeist for whatever reason, whether it's release date, what's out there at the same time, are people in the mood to see a comedy at a certain point? All those factors you really aren't in control of. I don't feel like my gauge is sharpened in any way."


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