Will Ferrell and Harper Steele share the sweet story of their friendship in the trailer for their upcoming Netflix documentary, Will and Harper.
“A long time ago, when I was at Saturday night liveI met a guy who got hired as a writer the same week I got hired,” Ferrell recalls in the preview. “He wrote a bunch of sketches for me and ended up becoming the head writer on SNL and, over the years, he has become one of my dearest friends.”
“And then one day, I got this email,” the Conductor continues the star. Steele had written to him revealing that she was “transitioning to living as a woman.” Ferrell was supportive of his friend's transition and invited her to take a road trip with him “like this new version of [herself] and, at the same time, discover what all this means” for their friendship.
The trailer offers glimpses of one-on-one time on the road. At one point, Steele asks her friend, “Were you a little nervous about how to talk to me when I came out to you?” Ferrell responds, “Yeah, probably a little nervous.” Steele reminds him that “there are no ground rules with friends.” Later, Steele tells Ferrell in the car that she encourages her friends to ask questions about her transition because she's “not afraid to talk about it.”
Ferrell brings levity to the conversation with a quip: “Here's a question: Do you think you're a worse driver as a woman?” As Ferrell laughs at his own joke, Steele sighs and says, “That's the stupidest thing… that's so… fuck you. But I am.”
Will and Harperpremiered at Sundance in January, will be available to stream on Netflix on September 27. It will also be released in select theaters on September 13.
“The idea of the whole discussion, for some reason in my head, was a documentary,” Ferrell said. The Hollywood Reporter at Sundance about the decision to capture their road trip on camera. “Of course, I was very clear with Harper, 'I don't want to exploit our friendship, but this could, I think, be a wonderful way to explore this subject. Obviously, for me to learn, to ask all the questions I have about what you're going through and who you are, have you changed?'”
He continued, “And I think we ultimately came to the same point: If we could actually get someone to film it, maybe it would be something that people would watch. And it would give them a different perspective or just show the fact that two people can have a conversation about this.”
The documentary was directed by Josh Greenbaum, with Ferrell, Greenbaum, Samantha Apfel, Carolina Barlow, Jessica Elbaum, Christopher Leggett and Rafael Marmor producing.