"I really wanted to play this tragic, narcissistic guy": Will Ferrell on golf comedy The Hawk

When he hears where he stands on a top-100 list of celebrity golfers, Will Ferrell doesn’t try to argue with his ranking.

“Look, I’m 100 out of 100 of the celebrities out there,” Ferrell, 59, jokes. “I’m on that list at 100 right below Air Bud.”

In his new Netflix golf comedy The Hawk, Ferrell plays Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins, a past-his-prime golfer trying to make a comeback.
The 10-episode series, co-created with his pals Harper Steele and Chris Henchy, reunites Ferrell with his former Saturday Night Live castmate Molly Shannon (as his estranged wife), and his Old School co-star Luke Wilson (as Golden Fisk, his one-time nemesis on PGA Tour).

The cast also includes Jimmy Tatro as Lonnie’s resentful son and Fortune Feimster as Sam, Lonnie’s caddie and follows Ferrell’s penchant for acting in sports comedies.

“I really wanted to play this tragic, narcissistic guy who just makes mistakes left and right,” Ferrell says. “I really wanted to do an episodic series where you could spend time with a character … He wears a visor with his name on it — it says ‘Hawk.’ He’s afraid people won’t recognize him. I thought it would be fun to play someone that needy.”

As for his skills on the golf course, Ferrell says his last-place ranking is exactly where he likes to be.

“It sets low expectations,” he chuckles. “I’ll have one good hole, and then I’ll collapse. But I got better doing the show.”

Wilson, who recently welcomed his first child with girlfriend Kendall Yates, says his standing among his fellow celebrity golfers was curious.

At No. 43, he found himself sandwiched between Nathan Lane and Antonio Sabàto Jr.

“I wasn’t aware they played golf,” he quips.

During a whirlwind press day in Toronto last week, the morning after Ferrell and Wilson appeared at the MLB Home Run Derby in Philadelphia, the longtime friends spoke more about the new series, shared their thoughts on what golf can teach you about life and revealed whether it is every acceptable to cheat the closer you get to the pin.

You two first worked together 23 years ago on Old School. Since then, you’ve acted opposite each other on Anchorman and Blades of Glory. What’s it like to be back on The Hawk?

Wilson “It was really fun. You forget that it’s been all those years because it doesn’t seem that way, but I don’t have a good sense of time and space, either.”

Ferrell “It felt like the Eagles reunion.”

Wilson “Like Hell Freezes Over.”

Ferrell “We’re making sweet music onstage, but then offstage we’re still screaming at each other.”

Wilson “You’re Don Henley and I’m Glenn Frey.”

What was the first thing each of you did to make the other laugh?

Ferrell “On this show, he’d leave notes on the windshield of my car as Golden Fisk, his character, admonishing me for doing something wrong.”

Wilson “Historically, for me it was seeing Will do those iconic characters on SNL. It’s so funny having loved that show over the years since I was a little kid. At the end of the ‘70s, I can remember my dad getting pumped up for the show, which made us boys get excited. But when I saw someone new, it’s like seeing someone new at school: ‘Who is this guy? This guy is really funny.’ “

Ferrell “I remember, while I was on SNL, seeing (Wilson’s 1996 film debut), Bottle Rocket in theatres, and it felt like a cinematic storytelling experience that I hadn’t seen before. I remember thinking, ‘God, it would be fun to meet those guys one day. I wonder if it’ll be possible. This might be the only movie they make.’ “

Wilson “That’s what we thought for sure.”

Ferrell “So to get to work with Luke as many times as I have is awesome. I think this was a cast that loved working with each other, and it comes through in the work.”

Will, what was it like for you to reconnect with Molly Shannon, with whom you acted opposite in so many memorable SNL sketches?

Ferrell “I’ve known Molly since way before Saturday Night Live when we were working in L.A. We were doing shows around town; various cabarets. Anything where you could get up and do sketch comedy. Molly was a shoulder to lean on … She had done six shows prior to the ‘95 season when I came on. She knew how to do it. When we were thinking of Stacy, my wife on the show, we wanted someone who could play this volatile person who was super-driven about her career. Molly was the perfect fit.”

You make some amazing golf shots on the show. Was there any AI used?

Ferrell “Actually, they used a fair amount of my shots in this show. But it’s a mix. Look, does Tom Cruise do all his own stunts?”

Wilson “I’m pretty sure he does.”

Ferrell “So that’s not a good comparison?”

Wilson “I’m pretty sure he rode a motorcycle off a cliff and then parachuted off of that.”

Ferrell “Well, I trained riding a motorcycle for this role and then we never used any motorcycle scenes. So I was ready to do my own motorcycle riding if it was needed.”

Q Is it ever acceptable to cheat at golf?

Wilson “No … karmically, you don’t want to do that. You’d never want to win a hole knowing you’d cheated.”

Ferrell “You know who never cheats at golf? Donald Trump.”

Golf is a sport people can play their whole life. What’s a life lesson you can take away from playing golf?

Wilson “You do have to think clearly and plan when playing golf. Where you want the next shot to land. It’s also important that when you’ve hit a bad shot to just put that in the past and keep moving forward.”

Ferrell “You also have to learn to plan ahead as to what you’re going to order for lunch.”

Luke, what did you think of Will’s Skims campaign?

Wilson “I was startled by the Skims campaign. I thought someone had taken Will’s image and done something to it. I called him and he said, ‘No.’ But you don’t want to mention Spanx around Will. That’s the competition and he’s anti-Spanx.”

On The Hawk, Lonnie is trying to make a comeback. You both have been in this business for more than 30 years. Tell me about a time when you wanted to quit and how you talked yourself out of it.

Wilson “I will say that when I’d hear someone like Russell Crowe say they were going to retire, I’d wonder how he could say that. Then, when I got older … I could see how some of those guys would want to hang it up. But then you get a little break and then you want to go back to work.”

Ferrell “The benefit of doing comedy is that it’s so much fun to do. As long as the phone keeps ringing, I’ll probably keep doing it. I think we both share the sentiment of, we snuck into a party that we were never supposed to be in and we’re waiting for someone to tap us on the shoulder and say, ‘Get out of here! You don’t have the right credentials.’ Until someone kicks us out, we’ll keep doing it.”

The Hawk is now streaming on Netflix.

mdaniell@postmedia.com