Actor Will Ferrell is releasing a beautiful and personal documentary titled Will & Harper, which shows the bond between himself and his best friend, Harper Steele, who came out as a trans woman in 2022.
In the documentary, the comedian and his best friend embark on a cross-country road trip across the US. During the drive, they talk for hours about their thirty-year friendship, Harper’s coming out story, and their experiences together throughout her transition.
The official film synopsis says, “When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship, transition, and America.”
Ferrell told Variety Studio that his best friend came out in an email. He said, “It was three summers ago in which Harper emailed a lot of her close friends with the headline: ‘Here’s a Weird One.”
Ferrell added, “She went on to explain she was going to transition and we were all of course excited to hear the news and surprised to hear the news. All of us were extremely supportive and expressed love…but that sort of opened the questions like, how can we help you? What do you need us to do?”
The comfort between the two friends is evident when, during the interview, Ferrell casually asked his friend Harper if he was a good listener during her transition, and she jokes that he sounds like he is running for mayor.
Will Ferrell said he had “zero knowledge” about the trans community before his best friend Harper Steele came out to him. “It’s a chance for all of us in the cis community to be able to ask questions and also just to listen and be there as a friend.” https://t.co/BMs1p67MmW pic.twitter.com/cAtKPK3rhB
— Variety (@Variety) January 22, 2024
The two met on the set of Saturday Night Live in 1995. Steele was a writer on SNL and Ferrell starred in the sketch comedy show from 1995 until 2002.
When Harper came out in 2022, Ferrell admittedly had “zero knowledge” about trans identities, but he knew he wanted to do everything he could to help support his best friend.
Will Ferrell created the documentary to show, through his friend’s journey, what it’s like to come out as trans and how to support a loved one during their transition. Will said, “It’s a chance for all of us in the cis community to be able to ask questions and also just to listen and be there as a friend to discuss this journey.”
Will & Harper is directed by Josh Greenbaum. It does not yet have a release date, but the project premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is seeking distribution out of the festival.
© 2024 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
Support GCN
GCN has been a vital, free-of-charge information service for Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community since 1988.
During this global COVID pandemic, we like many other organisations have been impacted greatly in the way we can do business and produce. This means a temporary pause to our print publication and live events and so now more than ever we need your help to continue providing this community resource digitally.
GCN is a registered charity with a not-for-profit business model and we need your support. If you value having an independent LGBTQ+ media in Ireland, you can help from as little as €1.99 per month. Support Ireland’s free, independent LGBTQ+ media.
comments. Please sign in to comment.