Will Ferrell Says Some Fans Were 'Not Too Happy' He Went to NHL Game as Grumpy Buddy the Elf (Exclusive)

Will Ferrell knows he ruffled some feathers with his surprise appearance as Buddy the Elf at an NHL game in December.

In a moment that went viral, Ferrell, 57, dressed up as his lovable, innocent character from the 2003 holiday classic Elf — and watched the Los Angeles Kings play the Philadelphia Flyers while scowling, drinking beer and holding a cigarette.

“Some people were not too happy, though,” Ferrell tells PEOPLE. “They thought, ‘Please be true to the character. That was not cool.’”

“Buddy was having a bad day. Yeah. He just went to a hockey game, smoked cigarettes and drank beer,” Ferrell jokes about the character’s mindset.

Related: Will Ferrell Meets ‘Really Disturbing’ Life-Size Buddy the Elf: 'Someone Signed Off on That and It Wasn’t Me’

He told Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce on the Jan. 10 episode of their podcast New Heights about what motivated him to make the appearance.

“That was just — I get these weird ideas every now and then. We’re season ticket holders for the L.A. Kings. We have seats right on the glass, which are amazing," he said.

"I told my wife, ‘Over the break, it would be funny if I just got a Buddy the Elf costume and didn’t shave for like a week, and I’m just sitting there with a candy cigarette and I’m just gonna sit there for a period and see how people react.' And that was it.”

During Ferrell’s PEOPLE interview with Reese Witherspoon, his costar in the new comedy You’re Cordially Invited, she asks him if he still has the costume from the movie. When he replies that he doesn’t, she asks, “Where'd you get your Buddy costume? Amazon?”

“I did,” says Ferrell. “People were commenting like, ‘I love that he's just in a cheap Buddy costume from Amazon,’ which is true.”

Related: Reese Witherspoon Still Haunted After Mistakenly Roasting Pal at Serious Ceremony: 'We're Not Friends Anymore!' (Exclusive)

Ferrell jokes that he has other costumes from his films Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Blades of Glory, “but they're all, like, shadow box framed.”

In his new movie You’re Cordially Invited, he plays Jim, a proud father of a bride-to-be. He clashes with Margo (Witherspoon), whose sister is getting married at the same venue, which accidentally double-booked the weddings.

You’re Cordially Invited is now streaming on Prime Video.

For more on Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

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