Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly reunite following rift over role of Jerry Buss in HBO’s Lakers drama Winning Time to present Snoop Dogg with 52nd birthday cake on stage

The Step Brothers made their triumphant return, and from the looks of it, there didn’t seem to be any lingering hard feelings between the two stars.

On Saturday, longtime friends and colleagues Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly reunited to help celebrate Snoop Dogg’s 52nd birthday at the Best Night Of Your Life 2 benefit.

While the hip-hop legend was on stage, the two actors and comedians came out and surprised him with a huge three-tiered birthday cake.

‘Yesterday was a very special day. It was Snoop Dogg’s birthday,” Reilly, 58, told the crowd, before Snoop pulled out a joint and lit it with the candles. “That’s what I’m talking about,” Reilly added.

The duo then led the crowd to a sing-along rendition of “Happy Birthday,” followed by Snoop blowing out his candles.

“My brothers surprised me,” Snoop wrote on Instagram, sharing a backstage look at the special moment. “Wil and Jan.

The sight of Ferrell and Reilly onstage having fun with Snoop comes in the wake of the feud over Jerry Buss’ role in HBO’s sports drama series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.

The two stars share a long history of working together, including co-starring in Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby (2006), Holmes & Watson (2018), along with their comedy film Step Brothers (2008).

But it turns out Ferrell had been lobbying his then-producing partner and best friend Adam McKay to play the Lakers’ larger-than-life owner Jerry Buss since he started developing the show, which is adapted from Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime . : Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty.

But McKay didn’t feel he was right for the role of the late Buss, who passed away in 2013, and instead cast Boardwalk Empire star Michael Shannon in August 2019.

“And Will was good at it,” McKay said of their different casting choices The Hollywood Reporter.

However, things did not go as planned with Shannon, who reportedly did not like the series’ fourth-wall-breaking format, and he left the production just a month later.

With just over a week before the shoot was to begin, McKay and the casting crew rushed to choose Reilly for the role of Jerry Buss.

Sweet treat: It was Ferrell who rolled the enormous cake onto the stage

High times: The Gin and Juice rapper had more than one use for the three-layer cake

Delicious: the legendary rapper shared a photo of the enormous birthday cake on Instagram

Role gap: The sight of Ferrell and Reilly onstage having fun with Snoop comes in the wake of the feud over Jerry Buss’ role on HBO’s sports drama series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.

Before Reilly signed on, he decided to reach out and call Ferrell, who McKay admitted afterward should have been the one who called the comedian first.

When Ferrell learned of the decision through a phone call from Reilly, he was so furious that he ended his friendship and professional relationship with McKay.

“It was in this weird moment where Will and I weren’t really hugging, even though there was nothing that terrible, and he called Will and said, ‘Hey, McKay just came to me with this,'” the producer and pilot director said .

He continued, “And Will was very hurt that I wasn’t the one to call him, and I should have. I’m sick of it.’

Not wanting to jeopardize his friendships with either man, Reilly decided to avoid anything that could hurt either of them.

“Will is one of my best friends, Adam is one of my best friends, I was really happy with the job and that’s all I have to say really,” he said of the rift between them.

Because of the role gap: Ferrell’s longtime producing partner and friend Adam McKay (pictured) passed over the comedian for the role of Jerry Buss in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, hiring Michael Shannon, who then exited production shortly before the start of the recording

Friction: McKay, who also served as producer and director for the HBO series, passed over Ferrell again and hired John C. Reilly for the role of the late Lakers owner; Reilly is depicted as Jerry Buss alongside Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson

Role gap: Reilly (center) called Ferrell to make sure he was okay with him taking the role of Jerry Buss on Winning Times, which led to the comedian voicing the glitch that it should have been McKay who played him had called in advance

Showtime Laker run: Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty aired for two seasons on HBO, but was ultimately canceled on September 17

The first season about the Showtime Lakers, consisting of 10 episodes focusing on the 1979-80 NBA season, premiered in March 2022 and received “generally favorable reviews” from critics.

A second season followed last August, consisting of seven episodes covering the years between 1980 and 1984.

But just over a month later, HBO announced that the series would not be renewed for a third season.

In addition to Reilly (Jerry Buss), Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty also stars Quincy Isaiah (Magic Johnson), Solomon Hughes (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Jason Clarke (Jerry West), Adrien Brody (Pat Riley), Jason Segel (Paul Westhead), DeVaughn Nixon (Norm Nixon), Sally Field (Jessie Buss) and Gaby Hoffmann (Claire Rothman),

The cast also includes Tracy Letts (Jack McKinney), Hadley Robinson (Jeanine Buss), Julianne Nicholson (Cranny McKinney), Tamera Tomakili (Earletha ‘Cookie’ Kelly), Spencer Garrett (Chick Hearn), Sarah Ramos (Cheryl Pistono), Molly Gordon (Linda Zafrani), Delante Desouza (Michael Cooper), Jimel Atkins (Jaamal Wilkes), Austin Aaron (Mark Landsberger), Brett Cullen (Bill Sharman), Stephen Adly Guirgis (Frank Mariani), among others.