Featured Image Credit: Variety/20th Century Fox
Topics: Adam Sandler, Film and TV
Callum Jones
Adam Sandler has admitted that he threatened to quit a well-loved 90s movie if they did not hire Brendan Fraser.
Sandler has appeared in some of the biggest and most popular films of the past 30 years or so, while Fraser is making a long-awaited acting comeback with a 2023 release.
If you hadn't guessed already, the pair co-starred in the 1994 film Airheads.
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The film told the story of a terrible band's attempts to make it big by taking a radio station hostage after a DJ refused to play their music on air.
The now-classic film also featured Steve Buscemi, Chris Farley, Michael McKean, Judd Nelson, and Ernie Hudson.
Meanwhile, the film was directed by Michael Lehmann with the screenplay done by Rich Wilkes.
But it was the director who was not too keen on Fraser appearing in the film, with Sandler admitting the fact in a recent interview.
Speaking on the 'Actors on Actors' interview with Fraser himself on Variety's YouTube channel, Sandler admitted it was a bit of a fight to get Fraser in.
Apparently, Lehmann was not convinced by Fraser as an actor after seeing him in 1992's Encino Man.
But Sandler said he threatened to quit the movie if he didn't change his mind.
Here is the full exchange between the two actors in the fascinating interview:
Adam Sandler: "Brendan, you were in a movie called 'Airheads.' Remember when I discovered you? You were just a kid. I stole you from Pauly and said, 'Get over here.'"
Brendan Fraser: "Is that how it shook out? Get out of here."
Sandler: "I was like, this guy shouldn’t just be a caveman — he should be in a band."
Fraser: "And then what?"
Sandler: "The director, Michael Lehmann, was very against you. He was like, 'I don’t get it. I don’t see the caveman being in the movie.' And I just said, 'He can do other s***, man.'"
Fraser: "Are you pulling my chain right now?"
Sandler: "I eventually went to his house at like 4 in the morning, woke him up, and I said, 'Just know Adam Sandler ain’t going to be in ‘Airheads’ unless old Fraser is in it.' So he changed his little tune."
Fraser: "He flew out to Chicago to meet me. He sang a different tune then."
Sandler: "He’s a filthy liar. He didn’t want you. I did, and the rest is pretty good. You had a good life because of me."