Sean William Scott Remembers The Will Ferrell Dart Scene From "Old School"

Dan Lalonde
3 days ago
3 min read

What is your favorite R-rated comedy? Is it okay to still say 'Tropic Thunder'?

Sean William Scott was on The Rich Eisen Show, where he reminisced on that infamous scene in 'Old School' where his character, a zoo pet owner, watches Will Ferrell shoot a tranquillizer gun into his neck. Here is the transcript:

Rich: "I want to talk about a scene from your filmography that keeps popping up in my Instagram algorithm. It’s the Old School moment where the dart goes into Will Ferrell’s neck. Can you walk me through the day you shot that scene? What was that like for you? Because it is so damn funny. You’re in a mullet. You look crazy to begin with."

Sean: "That was so fun. Honestly, I remember I had worked with Todd Phillips on Road Trip. When he told me about Old School, he was like, “Read this script. I’ve got this great role for Will Ferrell. He’s already big, but he’s going to explode after this.” I remember reading the script and thinking it was so funny, but there was this petting zoo owner guy. And I was like, I’m the original Tiger King. You know what I mean?"

Rich: "Yeah."

Sean: "The look came from my older brother. He looked like that. He had Tina Turner hair. I talked to the director and said, “Can I do this? Is this weird?” And he was like, “No, go for it.”

Rich: "So the hair was your idea?"

Sean: "Yeah. I showed up and they gave me the wig, the cutoff shirt, all that stuff. They’d already been filming for a while. I remember Vince Vaughn was there, and a couple of huge movie stars, and I don’t think at first they were into the look. But my whole idea was that he’s a petting zoo owner who hates the animals. He’s been waiting for them to screw up so he can yank on their leash. He hates his job. He hates the animals. Probably hates kids.

I remember there was one take where I yanked on a little miniature donkey and said, “Shut up.” The animal handler came over afterward and was like, “You can’t do that.” And I was thinking, I just did."

Rich: "Right."

Sean: "When we were shooting the scene, we didn’t know the director was going to slow down the vocals, which obviously made it a million times funnier. It was already funny because Will would add lines, like when he says, “Sorry, you’re crazy. I like you, but you’re crazy.” And when he walks away, he’s like, “I’m so tired.” When I watched it and they slowed it down, I was like, this is the funniest thing. But the other thing I remember—when I pull him out of the water later and give him mouth-to-mouth—the first take, I actually breathed air into him like real CPR. Will was like, “What are you doing? You could kill somebody.”

And I was like, Oh man, I almost killed Will Ferrell. He’s pissed at me right now. That stuck out because it was such a bummer moment. Also a “dude, learn to act” moment.

It’s like the Marathon Man story—Dustin Hoffman running to get out of breath, and Laurence Olivier goes, “You could just act.” That was my moment of realizing I didn’t actually have to give Will CPR."

Rich: "My favorite decision you made—unless it was scripted—is that your character has been waiting his entire life to see someone dart themselves in the neck."

Sean: "Exactly. That was the greatest moment of his life. He’s not concerned at all. He hates the job. He hates the animals. And then this happens, and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him. He’s like, “Wait, wait.”

Rich: "That’s so funny. So you’re saying you were going for your brother with that character?"

Sean: "My oldest brother."

Rich: "Fantastic. I’m so glad I asked you about this because it keeps popping up, and I was like, I’ve got to ask Sean when he comes in."

Sean: "I love that movie. I forget that I’m in it. I’ll be watching it and then I’m like, “Oh yeah, I was in that.”

Rich: "You don’t get that with everything you do."

Sean: "No. I feel like Old School is one of those movies from that era that just holds up. Obviously Caddyshack is its own thing, but Old School is an all-time classic. It’s up there with Will Ferrell’s best stuff, and for Vince Vaughn, it’s right there with Wedding Crashers."

What's your favorite Will Ferrell film? Comment below with your thoughts.