Will Ferrell stuns NHL fans with disheveled Buddy the Elf costume at LA Kings game

Will Ferrell has lit up social media after photos and clips of him at a recent NHL game wearing his iconic Elf costume went viral.

Ferrell, 57, who led the family holiday classic as Buddy, an adult human raised by Christmas elves in the North Pole, attended Sunday’s (December 30) match between the Los Angeles Kings and the Philadelphia Flyers at L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena.

Seated between his wife, Viveca Paulin, and their youngest son, 18-year-old Mattias, the Anchorman actor could be seen in pictures holding an unlit cigarette in his mouth with a stern look on his face.

In one video, as the cameras pan to him, labeling him “Buddy the Elf,” he looks directly into the lens with furrowed brows as he takes a swig of his beer.

“We’ve never ever seen him like this,” FanDuel Sports Network’s broadcast journalist Carrlyn Bathe said of Ferrell.

“I stopped by just to check in on him, he’s smoking a cigarette ringside, he’s got a five o’clock shadow, looking a little bit disgruntled,” Bathe said. “[He] said it was a tough holiday season, you guys, and he’s looking for a Kings win.”

Fans have agreed with Bathe’s assessment, with one writing on X/Twitter: “Buddy has clearly fallen on hard times.”

“I didn’t remember Buddy as an angry smoker,” a second joked.

“Buddy’s seen some s***,” a third quipped, with a fourth adding: “Buddy the Elf, but with LA energy.”

“Dude went from Buddy the Elf to Buddy the Grinch,” another noted.

Ferrell’s presence appeared to have been a good luck charm for the Kings as they went on to defeat the Flyers 5-4.

Elf, which debuted in 2003, has become an annual Christmas comedy must-watch.

Reflecting on the film’s success in a recent interview with People, Mark Acheson, who portrayed “the mailroom guy,” said his brief appearance changed his career.

“I called my agent and he said, ‘Listen, they would like you to come and do one line with Will Ferrell. Would you like to do it?’ And I said, yeah, I’d be happy to do that.”

He said he was originally only supposed to have one line before the film’s director, Jon Favreau, insisted he improvise a full scene with Ferrell.

The two went on to ad-lib the popular scene, which shows their characters getting drunk and having a heart-to-heart while lying in mail carts.

As Acheson tells Buddy that he needs to get out of the flow because he’s 26 and he’s “got nothing to show for it,” Buddy responds: “You’re young, you’re so young.”

“The producers wanted to axe the whole scene because of that. I think, ‘Who is gonna believe this guy is 26?’ I mean, seriously. I believe I was 46 at the time and an older, 46 even at that. Because I never looked young in my life,” Acheson recalled.

Instead, Favreau “fought” for the scene. “He said that’s the joke, that’s the funny part, right?” Acheson recounted, adding that despite the producers wanting to cut the entire scene, Favreau “kept me in.”

“And thank God for me because it changed my career quite a bit,” he said.