I’m A Peacock!: 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Other Guys

Adam McKay and Will Ferrell have been responsible for some of the best film comedies of the past 20 years, from Anchorman to Talladega Nights to Step Brothers. One of their most underrated efforts is The Other Guys, a satirical take on the “buddy cop” genre by way of a biting critique of fraudulent financial strategies. It stars Ferrell as a mild-mannered police accountant alongside Mark Wahlberg as a hotshot detective stuck behind a desk.

Few movies contain both an intricate series of graphics explaining the ins and outs of a Ponzi scheme and a band of homeless men having an orgy in a Prius. Here are 10 fascinating details from the making of The Other Guys.

10 The Other Guys Grew Out Of A Flippant Suggestion

Adam McKay has said that The Other Guys came about essentially by accident. He had dinner with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg and realized the two actors shared impeccable chemistry that could carry a movie.

He emailed producer Kevin Messick about pairing them up in a movie and gave a “buddy cop” movie as a flippant suggestion for what might work. Messick loved the idea and got McKay to work on a Ferrell/Wahlberg cop movie.

9 Mark Wahlberg Quickly Adapted To Adam McKay’s Improv-Heavy Filmmaking Style

Before shooting The Other Guys, Adam McKay feared that Mark Wahlberg would have a tough time adapting to his improv-heavy approach to filmmaking, having come from a background in more traditional acting.

However, Wahlberg got the hang of ad-libbing dialogue and not clinging too closely to the scene as written within a few minutes of his first day of shooting.

8 The Script Sparked A Bidding War Before It Was Even Written

When Adam McKay and Will Ferrell first started pitching Talladega Nights, all they had was “Will Ferrell as a NASCAR driver,” and it still sparked a bidding war among the studios.

The pitch for The Other Guys was simply “Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as mismatched cops,” and that similarly sparked a bidding war between the studios. The perks of being an A-lister.

7 Samuel L. Jackson’s Role Was Originally Written For Michael Chiklis

Initially, the role of Detective Highsmith was written with Michael Chiklis in mind. At the time, FX’s The Shield was coming to the end of its run and Chiklis’ role as Vic Mackey had made him one of the most recognizable tough-as-nails cops in Hollywood media.

However, Chiklis turned down the part specifically for this reason, as he didn’t want to be typecast as a badass cop. So, the role was slightly rewritten and given to Samuel L. Jackson.

6 The Stunt Team Put A Racing Engine In A Prius

Since the climactic car chase in The Other Guys involves Allen’s Prius, the stunt team had to make some modifications to the Toyota hybrid.

Three Priuses were used for the shoot and one of them was fitted with a racing engine so big that it didn’t fit under the hood and had to sit on the backseat.

5 Anchorman Super-Fan Eva Mendes Jumped At The Chance To Work With Adam McKay

In an interview with the AFI, Eva Mendes was asked what her favorite movie ever was. Instead of giving a typical answer like Citizen Kane or The Bicycle Thief, Mendes said Anchorman. Apparently, she quotes it daily.

So, when she was offered the chance to work with Adam McKay on The Other Guys, she jumped at the opportunity. Mendes joked that, for her, getting the chance to work with McKay was as exciting as most actors getting the chance to work with Martin Scorsese.

4 The Tuna Vs. Lion Debate Was Improvised

One of the most unusual, but undeniably hysterical tangents that The Other Guys takes is a heated conversation between Allen and Terry about who would eat whom in the animal kingdom if Allen was a tuna and Terry was a lion.

According to Will Ferrell, this whole debate was ad-libbed during a long filming day. Ferrell said that most comedy directors would’ve cut the scene after the first couple of big laughs, but Adam McKay will keep it going to see where it goes – and in this case, it paid off.

3 The Working Title Was The B-Team, But Fox Blocked It As They Were Developing The A-Team

Adam McKay and Will Ferrell initially developed The Other Guys under the title The B-Team. However, at the same time, 20th Century Fox was developing its big-budget reboot of The A-Team, so Fox executives weren’t happy. They were doubly upset, because McKay didn’t pitch the movie to them when he was doing the rounds at the studios.

Fox had the legal right to block Sony’s use of the title The B-Team, due to its similarity to the title of a film that Fox was releasing within a six-month radius, so McKay backed down and changed the title to The Other Guys. Funnily enough, he ended up liking the title The Other Guys more than The B-Team.

2 Will Ferrell And Mark Wahlberg Could’ve Starred In Cop Out Instead

The Other Guys wasn’t the only parody of the “buddy cop” genre to be released in the summer of 2010, but it did receive the most positive reviews. The other one, Cop Out, directed by Kevin Smith and starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, was panned by critics without remorse.

While Cop Out was in development, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg were both in talks to take roles in it prior to the casting of Willis and Morgan. It’s fair to say they both dodged a bullet there.

1 Dirty Mike Was Played By Director Adam McKay

When Allen’s Prius is recovered after being stolen by Ershon’s guys, there’s a note signed by “Dirty Mike and the Boys” thanking the owner of the car for “the F-shack.” They’re a gang of homeless men who had an orgy in Allen’s car.

Later in the movie, Dirty Mike and the Boys return to the Prius and get scared off by Allen presenting his police badge. Dirty Mike, the leader of the group, is played by a cameoing Adam McKay.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3465 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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