Will Ferrell hopes his candid and enlightening new documentary Will & Harper can spark compassion and conversation ahead of the US election.
Three years ago, Will Ferrell was filming a movie when he received a most surprising email: his dear friend of nearly 30 years was coming out to him as a trans woman.
That friend was Harper Steele, a writer he met on his first day at Saturday Night Live back in 1995. From that fateful first meeting, Will knew he had found a match made in comedy, and their friendship and creative partnership would only continue to grow over the next three decades.
In this intimate, honest, and heartfelt documentary, Will and Harper hit the open road together to process this new stage of their friendship and reintroduce Harper to the country that she loves – this time, as herself.
“When we sat down with Netflix we made it clear that we wanted this out before the election,” Ferrell said at the film’s recent Los Angeles premiere.
“We wanted it to have enough runway for people to get to see it and hopefully start having important discussions in their living rooms,” he added.
Will & Harper explores Steele’s transition later in life and the questions Ferrell has to better understand her experience. Nothing is left off the table during their cross-country road trip, as the pair share both heartwarming and challenging moments during their travels in the documentary.
Ferrell said, “It was amazing how we were able to keep the flow of conversation going six hours a day in a car and the depths of things we explored.”
As trans rights have become a politicised issue in much of America, the project proved timely. A study released this week found that when anti-trans legislation becomes state law, suicide attempts among trans and non-binary young people rise, with increases of up to 72% among teens who live in states where those bills become law.
“We’ve heard from people who say they can’t wait to see this with friends and family who maybe don’t share the same viewpoint and they’re looking forward to watching it all together,” Ferrell said about his new film. “Hopefully it could slowly chip away at some of that.”
