In some ways, actors really are just like us — sometimes they pretend to be more important than they are to impress their friends and sneak into places they’re not supposed to. At least, that’s the case for Kristen Bell, who shared a hilarious story about how Will Ferrell didn’t call her out on her lies while she was sneaking around 30 Rock and SNL afterparties.
It might have been purely coincidental that Bell appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers the same night as Ferrell and Harper Steele, all of whom Meyers said he first met back in 2001 while working on Saturday Night Live. Still, it perfectly introduced the Frozen actress’s hilarious story about the time the Anchorman star helped her out. Coincidentally, the incident also happened in 2001.
I met Will in 2001 as well, and I would like to tell you why he’s the nicest man on the planet, which I’m sure you already know.
Bell was lucky enough to see Ferrell on Saturday Night Live, thanks to her college best friend, who had landed an internship at the variety show. While not part of her job duties, said friend – who also happens to be Meyers’ sister-in-law – regularly snuck The Good Place actress in on Saturday nights to watch the tapings. Despite not being allowed to be there and their young appearances, the friends also managed to sneak into some SNL afterparties too.
While it was usually just the two of them taking advantage of the internship, Bell also managed to sneak her best friend from back home into an afterparty one time. As if getting into an SNL afterparty wasn’t cool enough, her friend had another request: to meet Ferrell. Despite not knowing Ferrell, Bell took it upon herself to make her best friend’s dream come true and marched them both over to the comedian.
Instead of opening by introducing herself, she jumped right into things as if she was already friends with the Anchorman star. Thankfully, years of improving on Saturday Night Live was second nature to Ferrell and he “yes, and-ed” Bell, by happily playing along with her scheme. After saying hi, Bell recalls the SNL star turning to her and continuing the game by pretending to know her, too, despite not even knowing her name.
He just went with it. He was the most gracious — I remember it to this day. He’s the nicest guy. He’s a really special guy.
It’s too bad Ferrell wasn’t on stage to hear the story because his reaction surely would have been priceless, considering Bell is certain that he doesn’t remember the interaction at all. Hopefully, he heard it backstage.
You can catch Bell’s entire interview with Seth Meyers’ with an active Peacock subscription. And don’t forget to check out Bell in her brand new Netflix series Nobody Wants This, which premiered as part of the 2024 TV Schedule on September 26.