Eleven is a modern Christmas classic, but one of its scariest yet hilarious moments almost ended up on the cutting room floor.

The part comes in the mailroom scene where Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrell) is sent by his father Walter (James Caan) to stop him from causing more chaos in his office. While working there, Buddy meets a grizzled man known only as “Mailroom Guy.” The two got along well, drank “syrup” (actually whiskey) in their coffee and danced drunkenly on the mail sorting table. But the role was originally intended as a one-liner.

“I called my agent and he said, ‘Listen, they want you to come and do a line with Will Ferrell. Do you want to do that?’” Mark Acheson, who plays Mailroom Guy, told PEOPLE. “And I said, yes, I would like to do that. I was just supposed to say ‘work release’ and that was the end of it.”

Instead, the job turned into what Acheson described as “the craziest day I can imagine.” Director Jon Favreau decided to have Acheson and Ferrell improvise that day, and it became one of the film’s most memorable scenes. But there is one line that has recently taken the internet by storm.

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Buddy and his new buddy lay drunk on postal trucks and exchanged jokes – all improvised. Acheson’s character tells Buddy he’s 26 years old and has “nothing to show for it.” Buddy replies, “You’re young, you’re so young.”

The joke, of course, is that Acheson, now 67, is clearly not 26. “That’s why the producers wanted to cut the whole scene,” Acheson revealed. “I’m thinking, ‘Who’s going to believe this guy is 26?’ I mean, seriously, I was 46 at the time and older because I’ve never looked young in my life.

But Favreau resisted a cut. “Jon Favreau fought for this,” Acheson added. “He said, ‘That’s the joke, that’s the funny part, right?'” he continues. “He kept me, but they, they didn’t want me, but he wanted me, and thank God for me, because it changed my career quite a bit.”

The line continues to delight fans and the joke became something of a meme, especially this year. “The funniest thing about Elf was the 26 year old ‘mailroom guy,'” one social media user wrote.

“Now more than ever I can relate to the elf from the mailroom who is inexplicably 26 years old,” another wrote, while someone else said: “I can believe in an elf from the North Pole. But I definitely don’t believe this guy.” On the left it says 26. One of the biggest lies in film history.”

Eleven is available to stream on Hulu and Max, as well as Disney+ and Amazon Prime for Premium subscribers.