Will Ferrell Brings Kids To Emmys, Jokes He Couldn’t Find A Sitter [Video]

Did you catch Will Ferrell at the Emmys last night, on stage in his soccer dad ensemble?

The comic actor got his start on TV, before Will Ferrell was ever the marquee attraction for hits like Step Brothers and Anchorman. But his immersive appearance was a gag that didn’t just involve his own funny behavior — he was onstage with his real life three kids.

Unshaven and clad in a t-shirt, Dockers-style shorts and sneakers, Ferrell had sons Magnus, nine, Mattias, six, and Axel, three, tagging along as part of the gag.

The joke was that scheduled presenters Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren had bailed on their hosting duties “literally 45 minutes ago,” the comedian claimed he had to take the kids on stage because he “couldn’t find child care, OK?”

Feigning irritation, Ferrell told the Emmy audience that he had barely made it to the big night, joking:

“We had a soccer game, there was a neighbor’s birthday party, a nut allergy. I didn’t have time to do my hair! It doesn’t matter, it’s great to be here.”

Ferrell also snapped to his son Magnus that he “couldn’t play Angry Birds” at the moment, before admonishing:

“You have to go to the bathroom?! I asked you backstage if you had to go to the bathroom! You’re just going to have to hold it. This is the Emmys. Don’t blow this for me!”

Will Ferrell managed to put his daddy duty thing on hold during the appearance, in order to present an award to Modern Family’s Steven Levitan — and order the boys to “just share the tablet, okay?”