10 Movie Facts You Probably Already Knew Deep Down
5. The New Yorkers Buddy Meets Are Non-Actors - Elf
The first of two Will Ferrell-centric entries on this list now, with his 2003 holiday classic Elf. You'll surely remember the hilarious montage where Buddy (Ferrell) first arrives in New York City and excitedly bothers the locals, who naturally don't much care for his enthusiasm.
As it turns out, the sequence was filmed on the final day of shooting, with director Jon Favreau, Will Ferrell, a cameraman and a few crew members driving around the city looking for cool locations to shoot.
Rather than hire actors for Buddy's interactions, they simply asked actual pedestrians if they wanted to be extras in the movie for some easy cash, then had them shoot some improvised tomfoolery with Ferrell, and presumably got them to sign release forms.
Authentically capturing the sullen anonymity of New York City with actors is one thing, but anyone who's spent any time in New York probably realised they were looking at actual New Yorkers getting the job done.