Adam Sandler‘s cinematic career has many peaks and valleys, but there is little argument that one of this finest performances is in Paul Thomas Anderson‘s swooningly romantic “Punch-Drunk Love.” The story of a toilet accessories salesman who overcomes his own insecurities to win the girl of his dreams is Sandler at his most contained and sweet, but one of the inspirations he drew on for his character may surprise you.
Artie Lange and Judd Apatow recently stopped by Pete Holmes’ podcast “You Made It Weird” (all three are involved in the latter’s upcoming HBO series “Crashing”), and Apatow revealed how he had an unlikely influence on Anderson’s picture.
“Maybe this isn’t even true, but [Paul Thomas Anderson] was just trying to make a funny romantic comedy, but… he is such a genius…he can’t help making something innovative, daring and incredible,” he said. “But the funny thing is Adam used to say to me, he’s like, ‘You know, I’m doing you and my brother [in this role].’ And I watch the movie and I see it and I think it’s why it makes me cry because [Adam] knew me when I was a kid and I was terrible with women, just scared to death. And I see it in the behavior, especially the moment when he’s talking about the DJ. He’s trying to tell the woman the story about this funny thing the DJ did, but he’s just bombing, bombing on the date trying to explain this joke and I thought, ‘This is how I sound[ed] to Adam every day.’ ”
That’s a pretty interesting little nugget, and clearly family man Apatow has grown up a lot since his early days in Hollywood hanging out with Sandler and their crew of comics. So too has Sandler, who is currently in the midst of partnership with Netflix. Many have scratched their heads about the streaming service aligning with the comedian, but according to Apatow, Sandler is something of a global gateway for the company.
“People have a very deep connection to him,” he explained. “We do our show ‘Love’ for Netflix and they always say, ‘You know, any Adam Sandler movie, if we put it on in a country where it’s never run, it’s instantly gigantic.’ Like you could put up ‘The Wedding Singer’ in Peru and it just explodes. He’s really beloved around the world.”
Some very fascinating food for thought. Listen to the entire “You Made It Weird” conversation below.