‘Elf’ Cast: Where Are They Now? Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, James Caan and More

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‘Elf’ Cast: Where Are They Now? Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, James Caan and More

Smiling’s my favorite! Will Ferrell drew viewers in as the iconic Buddy the Elf in 2003’s Elf — and fans still can’t get enough of the silly holiday film nearly two decades later. In the Christmas movie, Buddy goes to New York City in hopes of finding his biological father, Walter Hobbs (James Caan), after learning that he is a human and not an elf as he’d always thought. Before going to the Big Apple, Buddy was raised at the North Pole by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) and never questioned why he was bigger than all of his elf friends. Buddy’s arrival in New York throws Walter and his wife, Emily (Mary Steenburgen), and their son, Michael (Daniel Tay) for a loop since Walter was unaware his college sweetheart had a child after they split. Despite being on the naughty list, Buddy loves his dad and tries to help him get into the Christmas spirit — and eventually helps Santa (Ed Asner) save the holiday after his sleigh breaks down in New York. Over the years, viewers have yearned for more from Buddy, his love Jovie (Zooey Deschanel) and the rest of the sweet characters. “My favorite holiday film is, you know what, it’s got to be Elf, because once again [director] Jon Favreau … and Will Ferrell just knock it out of the park,” Jack Black told Variety in 2019. [jwplayer WvdC8OmJ-zhNYySv2] Two years later, Ferrell and Deschanel reunited virtually to reenact one of their iconic scenes — when they sing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in the Gimbel’s locker room — to raise money for Georgia Democrats ahead of the state senate elections. The New Girl alum previously spoke about the memorable movie moment during an interview with Entertainment Weekly in November 2020, noting she wasn’t sure Ferrell could sing. “He said he wasn’t a singer, so I wasn’t expecting much,” Deschanel, who is part of the duo She & He, told the publication. “But his dad [Roy Lee Ferrell Jr.] is a great musician. I should’ve known he’d be secretly good!” In October 2021, Ferrell revealed that fans won’t be getting an Elf sequel anytime soon, revealing that he turned down a major payday on a second movie because of the story line. “I would have had to promote the movie from an honest place,” he told The Hollywood Reporter, claiming he passed on a $29 million offer. “Which would’ve been, like, ‘Oh no, it’s not good. I just couldn’t turn down that much money.' I thought, ‘Can I actually say those words? I don’t think I can, so I guess I can’t do the movie.’” Scroll down to see what the cast of Elf has been up to since the movie’s 2003 release: [podcast_block]

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Will Ferrell

The Saturday Night Live alum portrayed Buddy the Elf. Ferrell went on to star in Anchorman, Blades of Glory, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, Get Hard, Zoolander 2, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga and voiced the title character in Megamind. Ferrell also appeared on The Spoils of Babylon, No Activity and The Spoils Before Dying before landing the role of Marty Markowitz on The Shrink Next Door in 2021. The California native has more than 80 producer credits, including LA to Vegas, I Love You, America, Drunk History, Dead to Me, Motherland: Fort Salem and Succession. The comedian has worked as a writer on more than 20 projects, such as the screenplay for Step Brothers, Eurovision and creating Funny of Die Presents…

The University of Southern California alum married Viveca Paulin. They share three sons: Magnus, Mattias and Axel.

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Zooey Deschanel

Deschanel played Buddy’s love interest, Jovie. She then starred in Winter Passing, Failure to Launch, Bridge to Terabithia, 500 Days of Summer, Our Idiot Brother and voiced Bridget in the Trolls movies. The California native portrayed Jess Day — and served as an executive producer — on New Girl from 2011 to 2018. She has released six albums with M. Ward as part of the duo She & Him, including 2016’s Christmas Party. Deschanel was nominated for a Grammy in 2011 for “Song Long,” which was featured on the Winnie the Pooh soundtrack. She cofounded the website HelloGiggles with Sophia Rossi in 2015 and cohosted The Celebrity Dating Game with Michael Bolton in 2021. She's set to lend her voice to the 2023 animated film Harold and the Purple Crayon, based on the beloved children's book.

The A Tale of Two Besties coauthor was married to Ben Gibbard from 2009 to 2012 and to Jacob Pechenik from 2015 to 2020. She shares two children, daughter Elsie and son Charlie, with Pechenik. Deschanel has been dating Property Brothers star Jonathan Scott since September 2019.

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James Caan

Caan portrayed Buddy’s biological father, Walter. The actor then appeared in Get Smart, Mercy, Blood Ties, Good Enough, JL Ranch, Con Man, Out of the Blue and Queen Bees. The New York native also starred on Las Vegas, Magic City and Back in the Game.

The Godfather star was married four times and had five children. Caan shared daughter Tara with first wife Dee Jay Mathis, whom he split from in 1966 after five years of marriage. He was then married to Shelia Ryan from 1976 to 1977. They welcomed actor son Scott Caan in 1976. The Misery actor shared son Alexander with third wife Ingrid Hajek, whom he was married to from 1990 to 1995. He tied the knot again in 1995 with Linda Stokes, but the pair split in 2009. They shared two children: sons James and Jacob.

The actor died in July 2022 at the age of 82. 

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Bob Newhart

The comedian played Buddy’s father, Papa Elf, who raised him in the North Pole. Newhart went on to appear in Horrible Bosses and Five. He had recurring roles on ER, The Librarians, The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon. The Illinois native has released eight live albums and two compilation records. He penned a memoir titled I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This in 2006.

The Newhart alum married Ginny Newhart in 1963. The couple share four children: Robert, Courtney, Jennifer and Timothy.

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Ed Asner

Asner portrayed Santa, who enlists Buddy’s help to save Christmas. The actor then starred in The Christmas Card, Gigantic, Up, Foodfight!, All of My Heart, Saving Christmas, The Parting Glass, Honor Amongst Men and Senior Entourage. He also appeared on Center of the Universe, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Line, Working Class, The Cleveland Show, The Boondocks, Michael: Every Day, Forgive Me and Dead to Me.

The Mary Tyler Moore alum died in August 2021 at age 91. He is survived by children Matthew, Kate and Liza, whom he shared with ex-wife Nancy Sykes, and son Charles, whom he shared with Carol Jean Vogelman.

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Mary Steenburgen

Steenburgen played Walter’s wife, Emily. She then appeared in Elvis and Anabelle, The Brave One, Step Brothers, The Proposal, The Help, The Book of Love, Book Club, Happiest Season and Nightmare Alley. The Arkansas native starred on Justified, Joan of Arcadia, The Last Man on Earth, Bless the Harts, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. She also made a cameo appearance on husband Ted Danson's comedy series Mr. Mayor in 2022. The actress signed a global publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group in October 2020 after writing more than 50 songs dating back to 2007.

The Academy Award winning actress was married to Malcolm McDowell from 1980 to 1990. They share two children, Lilly and Charlie. Steenburgen tied the knot with Danson in 1995.

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Daniel Tay

Tay played Buddy’s half brother, Michael. He then appeared in Doogal, Beer League and Brooklyn Rules before taking a step back from acting in 2009. He returned to the entertainment industry in 2017, reprising his role as the voice of Doogal during an episode of AniMat’s Classic Reviews.

The New York native graduated from Yale University in 2014, according to Hello! magazine. He reportedly went on to become an SAT tutor and bilingual editor. As of December 2020, Tay was working as a research associate for Columbia University Irving Medical Center since December 2020, per his LinkedIn profile.

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Faizon Love

Love portrayed Buddy’s manager at Gimbel’s who is paranoid about getting fired Buddy secretly decorates the store. He went on to star in Just My Luck, The Perfect Holiday, Days of Wrath, Couples Retreat and Bulletproof 2. The Cuba-born comedian appeared on The Big House and Step Up: High Water and was one of the stars on Real Husbands of Hollywood in 2016. In 2022, he appeared in the film Block Party — and once again starred in a Christmas movie: Santa Games. He released three albums from his time on tour, including 2020’s Live From Portland.

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Peter Dinklage

The New Jersey native played an associate of Walter named Miles Finch, whom Buddy called an angry elf. Dinklage then appeared in Fortunes, Penelope, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, A Little Bit of Heaven, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Avengers: Infinity War and Cyrano. He starred on Threshold and Nip/Tuck before landing the role of Tyrion Lannister on Game of Thrones, which ran from 2011 to 2019. Dinklage’s producer credits include I Think We’re Alone Now, American Dreamer and the series How to Become a Tyrant. In addition to producing the 2022 dark comedy, the HBO alum also starred in American Dreamer. He also voiced a one-off character on Rick and Morty that same year.

The four-time Emmy winning actor married Erica Schmidt in 2005.

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Peter Billingsley

In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Billingsley — best known for his portrayal of Ralphie Parker in the holiday classic A Christmas Story — portrays the head elf in Santa's Workshop at the beginning of the film. The reason for his brief cameo? He co-produced the movie. The actor once again made headlines in November 2022 with the release of A Christmas Story Christmas, which he co-produced and starred in, reprising his beloved role of Ralphie.