Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate
Credit: Darren Michaels/Dreamworks/Apatow Prod/Kobal/Shutterstock
Christina Applegate has the whole Anchorman team to thank for making her role in the movie possible.
The actress, 54, recently appeared on The View to promote her new memoir You With the Sad Eyes. While discussing her role in the 2004 film, she revealed it almost didn’t happen because “When they came in with the initial offer, it was, you know, a little offensive.”
“And I said, ‘I can’t. I know my worth, and I can’t do that,’ ” she continued, explaining that it was at that point that director Adam McKay and Will Ferrell, who starred in the film and wrote it alongside McKay, gave parts of their own salaries to make up for the insufficient offer, which was notably less than that of her male co-stars.
“They wanted me bad enough, and they said, ‘Well, we’re gonna chip in,’ ” she shared, adding, “Thank God they did because it was one of the best experiences of my entire life.”
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Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, Will Ferrell
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
Applegate found filming the comedy to be “such a lesson.”
“I had never done improv before. Learning from that group of dudes… that is the masterclass that people pay for. Steve Carell, like, taught it. Adam McKay developed an entire new way of doing it with his group. To get in there and have that happen was absolutely magic, and it’s been invaluable to me and my career,” she said.
Representatives for McKay and Ferrell did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Christina Applegate and Will Ferrell
Credit: Peter Iovino/Dreamworks/Apatow Prod/Kobal/Shutterstock
In July 2024, Ferrell and Applegate reunited on the MeSsy podcast, where Ferrell told host Jamie Lynn Sigler how he thought Applegate assumed he had marital issues with his wife, Viveca Paulin.
“When we were shooting the movie, we would go out a lot socially,” he said, while Applegate started laughing. He then explained that Paulin was absent from a lot of the social outings the group would go on together outside of shooting.
Applegate found it suspicious and eventually asked Ferrell about the absences. It was halfway through shooting that the couple shared they were expecting their first baby, son Magnus.
“‘I knew something was up!’ ” Ferrell recalled his costar saying. Applegate responded, “I remember that you guys had something you weren’t sharing yet.”
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