Stephen Chernin, Associated Press
Will Ferrell, left, and Jon Heder star in the new movie "Blades of Glory."
Click photo for larger image.

NEW YORK -- Seeing Will Ferrell laugh feels like a privileged sight.

Of course, Ferrell laughs all the time, but as a performer, it's rare he ever shows the slightest crack in his veneer, from his deadpan explanation of his prayers to "the baby Jesus" in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" to his unflinching President Bush impression on "Saturday Night Live."

Ferrell and his co-star Jon Heder keep their composure throughout their new film "Blades of Glory," in which they play rival figure skaters (Chazz Michael Michaels and Jimmy MacElroy, respectively) who are kicked out of their sport, only to return as a pair.

Ferrell, 39, and Heder, 29, are both married with children -- and each brings an innocence to even the oddest comedy.

AP: Will, with movies about soccer ("Kicking & Screaming"), car racing ("Talladega Nights") and your upcoming movie about '70s ABA basketball, what sport would you like to tackle next? Wiffleball could be promising.

Ferrell: (Laughing) Wiffleball would be good.

Heder: I don't think so. There's not enough juice. I'm sorry.

Ferrell: Maybe ice dancing, because it's different than ice skating.

AP: You ad-libbed much of the section where Chazz suggests the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" as the perfect score to a skating routine. Were there many scenes or lines that were improvised?

Ferrell: There weren't a lot. I think the nature of this movie was that there was a lot to get done in a short amount of time. We actually ad-libbed more on the ice.

Heder: I think Will is naturally better at ad-libbing, so he had a little bit more of that, and I did a little bit more ad-libbing on the ice.

AP: Jon, you've shown a knack for physical comedy, most notably in the dance routine from "Napoleon Dynamite," which was both funny and impressive.

Heder: I've always enjoyed just getting physical, whether it be skating or dancing or just goofy activities. I can never really do it seriously. If I went to a dance club, I wouldn't keep a straight face.

Ferrell: That's why I think Jon is such a great physical comedian -- and I think we never actually have spoken to each other about it. When you're doing something like that dance he did in "Napoleon Dynamite," it's obviously comedic, it's silly. But then you pull back and you're like, "Wait, it's kinda good." I think that's what makes things truly funny.

Heder: You take it seriously, but you know it's not serious. You're trying to do your best and hopefully comedy comes out of it.

AP: You both seem to come from a tradition of character-based, ensemble comedy, rather than standup.

Heder: I've never given it a shot. Maybe I will.

Ferrell: (In mock-narrator style) From that moment, he became the world's greatest standup. (Reverts to normal voice.) But, yeah, I grew up on those '70s comedies, which were "Stripes," "Caddyshack," "Slap Shot," "Meatballs." All one word titles. "Animal House." They were big ensembles, not just one funny character, but multiple funny characters.

AP: You both have an honest, earnest quality that has made you lovable to audiences. Is it difficult to maintain that in Hollywood, a place not exactly associated with those characteristics?

Heder: I definitely felt that right after "Napoleon," where it was like, "You're the hot ticket right now." For me, especially starting out and testing the waters, I felt like I was still trying to figure out who I am as a performer.

Ferrell: I think we do have that earnest thing in our performances and I think it's a separate thing from what Hollywood is all about.

AP: Will has expanded into drama with movies like "Stranger Than Fiction" and "Melinda and Melinda," and Jon, you've expressed interest in taking on dramatic roles. Is the approach different?

Ferrell: I don't feel like I'm an experienced dramatic actor to officially comment on it. ... What was so cool about working on "Stranger Than Fiction" for me was Emma Thompson got started in comedy; Dustin Hoffman is a gifted comedic actor. Their whole approach was, it's exactly the same. For some people, it's the difference between capital-A Acting and little-A acting.

AP: As you pointed out at the Oscars.

Ferrell: Yeah!

Heder: They just don't get it!

Ferrell: The sentiment of what we did was absolutely true. It was kind of mind-bottling, if I could steal a phrase. ... Everyone's walking around going, "That was so funny! That's wonderful." I think it just went over their head what we were saying. And sure enough it happened that night. I think it was a little bit like (clapping), "It's very true, and we will continue to not nominate comedic performances."

AP: So should you two be nominated for this?

Heder: (Laughing) That's what we're saying.

Ferrell: Thank you. That's your headline.

First Published: April 8, 2007, 4:00 a.m.