Will Ferrell and Harper Steele have been friends since almost their first day working together on Saturday Night Live. “We hit it off pretty quickly,” Steele told Netflix. “I wrote a lot of stuff for Will, much of which didn’t make it to air because it was too good.” Steele would eventually serve as head writer at SNL from 2004 to 2008, while Ferrell became one of its breakout stars. Now, you can sit in on the pair’s evolving friendship in a new documentary: Will & Harper.
After their work on SNL, Ferrell and Steele continued to work together. Steele wrote Ferrell’s telenovela homage Casa de mi Padre and his Lifetime movie A Deadly Adoption; she also served as creative director at his comedy website and production company Funny or Die. And they never stopped hanging out outside of work.
“We’d go to Lakers games, go on road trips together, surprise each other at random little bars in costume,” Ferrell told Netflix. When Steele came out as transgender three years ago, she wasn’t sure if those same experiences were open to her. Would she feel comfortable at a Lakers game, or rolling up to a dive bar in Iowa? And Ferrell wasn’t sure if their friendship would continue without a hitch. Would he feel as comfortable shooting the breeze in the car with her? That’s when Ferrell came up with the notion that would become Will & Harper, directed by Josh Greenbaum. “What if we went on a road trip together, giving her a chance to go into a cowboy bar or whatever places she misses, and I can be by her side and lend support as a friend?” Ferrell asked. “At the same time, it would give us a chance to reconnect, and figure out what this transition means to our relationship.”
Steele saw the road trip as an opportunity to reintroduce herself to the country she loves. “I didn’t just want to come out in places like New York or LA and forever live on either coast,” Steele said. “I love the whole country. It’s my country, and I wanted to feel a little safer being in it. And I thought that going across the country with Will Ferrell would help me. That’s the privilege I have knowing Will Ferrell.” And thus, the story of Will & Harper begins.
When Will Ferrell’s good friend of 30 years, Harper Steele, comes out as a trans woman, the pair embark on a road trip to process this new stage in their friendship and reintroduce Steele to the country she loves as her authentic self.
Directed by Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar), the new documentary film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix.
Steele hopes her journey proves helpful for viewers — whether or not they’re transgender like her. “Ultimately, the main reason that got me to do it was, ‘Oh, maybe this could be useful for others,’ ” she said. “I Iike to think that about any kind of work that I’m putting out there. Anything that I’m making or a part of, it’s like, ‘I hope this is somehow useful to people, that it makes them laugh or they get something out of it.’ ”
Will Ferrell (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Step Brothers) and Harper Steele are the main participants in Will & Harper. A few other old Saturday Night Live friends might also make appearances.
Ferrell has plenty of on-camera experience, but a documentary like this proved to be a new experience for him. “Being on camera as yourself for 16 hours a day or however long we did it, I knew that was going to be new,” he said. “What if we run out of things to talk about? We’re in that car a long time.”
The drive started in New York at their old SNL haunts, and ended in Ferrell’s hometown of Los Angeles. Over the course of their 16-day trip, Ferrell and Steele traversed the length and breadth of the American heartland, from Indianapolis to the Grand Canyon, striking up conversations and making new friends in bars, gas stations, and rodeos along the way.
In the end, this trip west brought two old friends even closer together. “I could almost pinpoint the moment where I’m like, ‘Will sees me the way I want him to see me now,’ ” Steele said. “It was a wonderful experience to see someone not struggling with accepting me, but working to understand how I wanted him to understand it.”
But even for two people so familiar to each other, there were still a few surprises along the way. “Actually, the most surprising thing was probably when the kid on the unicycle showed up outside my childhood home,” Steele added. You’ll have to watch Will & Harper to find out more about that.
Will & Harper hits select theaters in September and Netflix on Sept. 27. It will also have its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 5.
Until then, read up on Ferrell’s newly announced scripted series GOLF with Ramy Youssef, and check out Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, the delightfully unhinged 2020 comedy written by Ferrell and Steele.
“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” I’m a huge believer in this expression. As a filmmaker, that’s how I try to connect with people. Comedy is my medium to say something about the world, because often the best way to get people to listen is to give them laughter first, and then introduce what you want to say.
When Will and Harper talked to me about directing this documentary, I knew it was a story that needed to be told, and I was so excited to go on this special journey with a group of close friends both on-screen and behind the camera.
Once we set off, I immediately began to notice a rhythm to their conversations. It usually started with a joke, then transitioned to a real question and a genuine conversation, and then returned to comedy. I love that about them. It reflects how I see life as well. Life is never just funny or just dramatic. It constantly bounces between the two.
As the director, I tried to emulate those patterns because Will and Harper’s love language with each other is rooted in comedy and laughter. And so I, along with the rest of the team, wanted to ensure that for every moment of pain, struggle, and discomfort — of which there are many in the film — there were equal moments of levity and laughter.
Ultimately, after traversing the distance between New York and Los Angeles and capturing adventures both hilarious and poignant, we had amassed over 200-plus hours of footage. We almost had too many excellent options! But with the help of our fantastic editor Monique Zavistovski, I was able to identify the moments of the story that were truly dramatically important: moments of discovery, challenge, and growth between Will and Harper.
I felt privileged that my friends asked me to make this film with them and even more honored watching them open up and be truly vulnerable with one another. Creating a safe space for these moments to unfold was our primary goal, and the trust they placed in me as a director is something I hold dearly.
What Harper did — coming out and transitioning at 61, reaching out to her friends, agreeing to go on this cross-country road trip with Will, with me, and the cameras — was all incredibly brave. What Will did is incredibly brave as well. He was willing to ask the sensitive questions. He was willing to potentially lose fans who don’t agree with his support of his best friend living her authentic life. He did all that because he knew Harper needed him, and that beyond Harper, Will knows that other people in the trans community who feel othered can use an ally.
This is the most special film I’ve ever worked on because it was so intimate and personal. The love I have for these two incredibly brave, funny, and beautiful people is hard to express in words. I’m grateful that I could, in some way, channel that love into this film.
Will & Harper is a story about friendship, allyship, and the journey to becoming your true self. It’s about identity, America, pain, laughter, and acceptance — both of each other and, more importantly, of ourselves. It’s also about the power of Pringles, cheap beer, and road trips with your best friend.
