Chad Smith & Will Ferrell Set Fallon Drum-Off
Will Ferrell and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith look almost exactly like each other, to the point of confusion. This isn’t a particularly new story. The two end up at the top of every celebrity-lookalike list. But now, as Rolling Stone reports, they’re doing something about it: Holding a drum-off on The Tonight Show to raise money for charity.
The showdown will air on The Tonight Show’s 5/22 episode, with both of them competing for a giant golden cowbell. They’ll also be vying to raise money for charity, with Ferrell raising funds for Cancer For College and Smith lending his efforts to Little Kids Rock. But this isn’t just a feel-good face-off. It’s personal, too.
Smith tells Rolling Stone, “We’re going to have a drum-off to see who the real Chad Smith is,” the real Chad Smith tells Rolling Stone. “I’m all for it. But unless Will’s been practicing or is secretly a crazy, wild drummer, I think it’ll be evident right off the bat who the real Chad Smith is. I’m ready to take him down… Ever since the Super Bowl, this delusional imposter claiming to be me has forced me to defend my identity. What’s up with that? I don’t understand why he, all of a sudden, decided he wants to be me. It’s not enough to be one of the biggest movie stars in the world? It is going to be complete public humiliation on the part of Will Ferrell.”
For his part, Ferrell does not seem as bothered by the comparisons: “Chad apparently has a lot of anger and issues,” says Ferrell. “I don’t quite come from the same place. I don’t get nearly as many references to being Chad Smith as he does Will Ferrell. I’m not looking at this as much as a competition so much as a public service to the world.”