While on set for Etan Cohen's upcoming R-rated comedy Get Hard, our visiting group of journalists had a chance to sit down with stars Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart. The comedic duo talk about working together on screen for the first time, collaborating with Cohen, and acting alongside a live baboon. Our set visit interview follows below:

We saw while you guys were shooting that scene, I was just curious, is this the sort of process that you guys usually go through, as far as sitting down before the scene, going over what you’re going to do, where the kind of comedic beats are...

get-hard-image-kevin-hart
Image via Warner Bros.

Kevin Hart: Working out the beats? A lot of the scenes are pretty much there on paper when we get there, but sometimes...

Will Ferrell: Yeah, this was a little bit different because we took two scenes...

Hart: And we compressed it.

Ferrell: ... kind of combined in one. So, this one took a little extra. We were trying to figure out, ok, how do we still kind of, you know maintain some of the stuff we’d lost from the other scene and this and that.

Hart: In Big Will’s defense though, this kind of shows you guys how prepared he is, because he came in with the notes today. I didn’t even, know that things had changed.

You didn’t know the two scenes had been combined?

Hart: Nope, that’s how prepared I was, but Will came in with thoughts and notes about everything. I had no idea.

Ferrell: Kevin made it clear though, don’t use this as an example for me not being prepared. I just want to be on record as saying, but yeah, you did not...

Hart: I had no idea. I came in knowing from what we did way back when. That’s what was in my head. All that stuff changed, but I like the fact that, you know, he’s always thinking about the story. We both are, but as a producer on the film, he’s conscious of it, so at times, he gets to flex that muscle and this morning he did just by wanting it to be right and the conversation between himself and the director and my unprepared ass came in and we got the scene right. So, that’s really how this whole thing broke down and that’s why you guys got to see a different type of progression before we actually started filming the scene.

This is your first time working together, right. Can you talk about your collaboration together and also with your director?

get-hard-image-ariana-neal-kevin-hart-edwina-findley-dickerson-will-ferrell

Ferrell: Yeah, there...executive producer, Chris Henchy right there.

Hart: Hey Hench.

Ferrell: He always leaves at a crucial moment.

Hart: He does that so we can get his blur. That’s his blur. No, Henchy. They’re going to write it down. You’re in.

Ferrell: We know you’ll never bring anything, even though you asked. No, it’s ok. Working together, was that the question?

Just your collaboration with Henchy and your director?

Ferrell: Yeah, you know, it kind of, it’s kind of the same process, you know, it’s new for us to work with Kevin and vice versa, but Etan really once the balls sort of, you know, get rolling, you guys have three or four meetings where he got all of Kevin’s input into the character, which of course, enhanced the role of Darnell 10 times what it was originally written in and Kevin just had great ideas about how he wanted to play certain things and especially from the black perspective and how that should be, you know, things we want to say, things we don’t want to say, and then we, you know, we met before shooting and went through all of the scenes. It took about a week of rehearsal, which really wasn’t rehearsal other than just reading it out loud and saying this part works, this part doesn’t, riffing on ideas and then you just throw all that in and start filming, so we didn’t have rehearsals per se, of like getting on set and I’ll walk here and put my coffee cup down and you say that. We just kind of show up on the day and have additional ideas that day and you know, usually it’ll be, it’s a job of you know, Kate, our script supervisor, to keep track of it all and figure out how to make it work.

get-hard-image-t-i-will-ferrell

Hart: For me, it was definitely dope because this is me stepping out of my comfort zone. My comfort zone as far as successes came with Will Packer, Tim Story, that’s been my producer, my director, like those are my guys. Coming here and working with Will and Will’s team and you know, his production company, along with the studio is me being excited to work with Will, but I will say, the way that they approach their workday is dope to me, because we all care, like he said. I met with Etan way before and I wanted to go through the beats, we wanted to write, but on this set we all were the same way. We wanted the material to be right, so though we haven’t worked with each other, once we did and we knew it was happening, we both hit the ground running along with Etan, the director, and literally we gelled very well. It was chemistry from the start.

The premise makes it sound like it could be edgy with you and prison and you guys could really push it, but it sounds also like there’s family beats. How aggressive were you guys going with it. What’s the tone of it?

Hart: We’re going aggressive.

Ferrell: You know, it’s the studio, there were conversations where they were like, “Is there any way it can be PG-13?” and we said, “No,” and not trying, we weren’t trying to be obstinate. I just know going through Anchorman 2, that was a struggle to get that movie to be PG-13. There were so many little … like the rating system has gotten so prohibitive, there are now jokes that you’ll see on Two Broke Girls that will make a movie R rated. So, we would go back and forth on this and I don’t know if it’s just that R movie and our specific experience on that, but, or if the standards are getting tougher and tougher, but you say one thing and it will throw you into R, so having just gone through that and the thought of trying to make a benign movie about prison, I just, we didn’t want to be handcuffed in that way, so it just, it just kind of had to be R. That having been said, we do go for a lot of jokes in our own creative way.

get-hard-will-ferrell-kevin-hart

Hart: You know what’s crazy though, we started off, we started off with the R, like yeah, fuck, shit, fuck, but as we’ve gotten into it now, it’s less, you know, I don’t think that we’ve, within the later weeks we’ve done, it hasn’t been as many as we did in the beginning.

Ferrell: We got all the cursing out of our system.

Hart: We kind of pulled back.

Ferrell: Etan also, the other, the backbone of this whole thing is this story of a guy with a guilty conscience, who has taken this money under false pretense. I’ve assumed for horribly wrong reasons that he’s been incarcerated because, not because I’m a racist, but because I’m a statistical freak and my character read somewhere that 1 out of 3 African Americans has been incarcerated in their lifetime...

Hart: That’s the crazy thing. He’s not a racist at all.

Ferrell: He’s about to punch me in the mouth, but then I offer him enough money to change his life, so he’s having this struggle going home to a family who is like, is that the right thing? I know it’s a lot of money, but is that the right way to obtain it. He’s like, why should it matter to you? He’s a crook, and so we’re kind of asking all those questions, while we’re saying and doing horrible, filthy things. So, hopefully there’s a balance.

It looked like in that scene, you were having a hard time keeping a straight face giving your lines. Has that been a constant on...

get-hard-kevin-hart-will-ferrell

Hart: I definitely … we were keeping a break meter of who breaks the most, my meter would break every day. I’m silly, man. I’m silly. I love to have fun while we’re working, and at times it’s good...

Ferrell: In Kevin’s defense, you were a lot of times, because I believe everything he says, so he’s going off on these rants and my character is like, “Really, how did that make you feel?” and that’s what always throws you. It’s not necessarily something I’m saying. I’m not coming up with this amazing joke. I’m just so into listening to you.

Hart: What made me break just now is as I’m saying the most ridiculous stuff, all he’s saying is, “Yeah, of course.” That’s what I’m talking about...

Is it hard for you to do the straight man to him?

Ferrell: It’s been equally hard, even though I’m luckier in that I can lock in.

Hart: When he locks in, he’s in. What killed me was when you were outside by the car, and I got a look at your outfit. You have the hat on and your shirt buttoned up. Remember, I was on the phone and I just turn around and he’s got this, it’s not a ridiculous look at all, but he was just waiting to shoot the scene. He’s got a thug cap with Compton on it and his shirt buttoned all the way up and he’s just waiting for them to say rehearse, like he’s so innocent. What the fuck do you have on? That killed me the most I think. That definitely killed me. There’s times man, I just laugh. Will’s funny to me. He makes me laugh.

Did you guys get to work with the baboon?

Hart: I’m not going near no damn baboon. Did you work with that baboon?

will-ferrell-kevin-hart-get-hard

Ferrell: He didn’t have his papers filled out, apparently. We had to shoot a separate day.

Hart: I’ll tell you how bad I am, I saw them walking, the trainer had the baboons by the hand and they were walking and I made the driver stop the car until the baboon... I said I don’t want to see no attack. I don’t want to be a part. If anything happens, I don’t want to say I was there.

Ferrell: You’re never going to see Kevin Hart with Bear Grylls on an episode of Man vs. Wild. Here we are with Kevin Hart in the Yucatan Peninsula, trying to survive in the jungle.

Hart: Nope, there’s no way.

Ferrell: I’ll Skype to you.

Hart: We had a chicken, yo Kev, this is where we’ll put the chicken. Not when I’m in there. You have to understand, this has nothing to do with black or white. I just don’t believe people can tame animals. I am not, listen, I have a dog. When you come to my house and you ask me, “Is my dog trained?” I’ve got to be honest, not really man. I don’t know. He could have a bad day. He might bite you. There’s a chance that he might bite you, so if you’re afraid, I get it. Don’t go near him. I can’t, I don’t believe when people tell me, “Oh, he’s fine.” I see people, Etan took a picture with the baboon. I was like, why, like, and his teeth, the baboon’s teeth are showing in the picture, no, it won’t be me.

Ferrell: Powerfully strong, potentially aggressive animals, yeah.

get-hard-image-will-ferrell

Hart: It can just rip your face off with his fingers. Of course I don’t want to be next to it, no.

Ferrell: It’s only happened several times.

Hart: I don’t want to do it. Not at all.

Why is there a baboon?

Hart: I don’t want to tell you all. I’m not going to tell you about that one. That’s I think is part of the wild ride that we’re creating in here. There’s going to be a lot of things that you question, a lot of things that you go, what, did that need to be there? The baboon is probably one of those things.

Ferrell: I’ll just say it, it’s one of … it’s one of Darnell’s ideas, yeah.

Hart: One of many. Just keep in mind that I am taking him through a prison preparation course and I’ve never been.

Ferrell: He’s never been.

Hart: I’ve never been, so where I’m getting my research and where I’m finding the things I’m doing, we don’t know, so that will help you understand.

Ferrell: You suspected Darnell watched some episodes of Oz.

Hart: I saw Oz and I want to Animal Planet in between by accident. What it this? It’s like I saw a baboon, but then I’m on Oz who had a baboon, let me just write it down, just in case.

get-hard-image-ti-will-ferrell

Will, would you say this is riskier material, maybe pushing the envelope a little bit more with the themes than some of the stuff you’ve done, even though your comedy always pushes the envelopes?

Ferrell: Yeah, it might be. There’s definitely one scene that will be the riskiest thing I’ve ever done.

In this movie?

Ferrell: Yeah.

Can you tell us about it.

Ferrell: No, I can’t. There’s just one scene.

Were you afraid to shoot that scene?

Ferrell: No, it was an idea that Adam McKay came up with and we still haven’t shot it. In fact, it’s being saved for the last day.

Are you afraid you’ll go shoot the last day and that will be it, like that’s the end, there’s no coming back from that scene.

Ferrell: Oh yeah, if we placed it earlier in the schedule?  Probably...

Hart: I wouldn’t have blamed him. I would have totally supported it. I get it man.

get-hard-poster

Ferrell: I’m always in these situations where I forget to separate what is pitched as an idea to the fact that I’m actually going to have to execute it. I’m always, oh yeah, you know, I remember reading Old School for the first time, like reading about my character is going to streak and I’m, “Oh yeah, that’s funny. I remember when people used to do that, that’s funny,” and then it’s the day you’re in the robe, standing there naked and they’re about to yell action, like, “Why did I agree to do this?”

Hart: I’m...

Ferrell: But anyway, that’s what will be happening Wednesday. It’ll be a moment of, “Here we go.”

Hart: Did Etan tell you, when they were telling me about that, when they pitched that and he didn’t say who it was, so he’s telling me, and I remember just looking at him like, “Who is doing this? Will. Oh! This is going to be great.” I thought it was me.

Ferrell: You thought you were going to have to do it?

Hart: We got to have a meeting.

Ferrell: I know, it’s very unfair to talk about it and not be able to.

Hart: We can’t tell you. It’s … you’ll totally understand it and appreciate it so much more.

Was there anything in the script that didn’t make it to the final draft that you guys were like, “I’m not doing that”?

Hart: Our draft was actually 176 pages. Etan, first draft, 186?  No, we actually had a good first draft, but you’re dealing with people who love comedy, like our director is a writer, a comedy writer, you know. So him coming in as a first time director, one thing he understands is jokes, how to place them, how to give them, how to pitch them and the both of us receive it well. If we’re not coming up with things ourselves, there’s never a shortage of it coming, so you know, within that, some things get longer and some things are shorter, but there’s so much stuff on the cutting table to pick from.

Get Hard opens March 27th.

get-hard-poster