It’s hard to believe that it’s been over eight years since Philip Seymour Hoffman died. And the actor is dearly missed, both for his comedic chops and the intensity he brought to his roles. Some would even go as far as to say that Hoffman’s intensity was “hardcore,” as Adam Sandler described his performance in “Punch Drunk Love” when he was a guest on Dana Carvey and David Spade‘s podcast “Fly On The Wall“ for a live show.
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During the live episode, Sandler recounted the first time he ever crossed paths with Hoffman and how memorable the actor was. So, where did Hoffman and Sandler first meet? When Hoffman auditioned for the main villain role in Sandler’s 1995 comedy “Billy Madison.” The story goes that after the studio denied Sandler’s request to cast then-“SNL” writer Bob Odenkirk in the role, they opened the part up to auditions. And Hoffman’s cold audition blew Sandler away, so much so that he pleaded with the studio to cast him in the part. The studio acquiesced, but when they followed up with Hoffman about it, he turned it down. That prompted Sandler to call Hoffman on his own and profess how much he loved him for the role, but Hoffman casually declined again: he just didn’t feel like doing the role.
Sandler started the story off from the beginning. “I was in Toronto getting ready to make the movie and it wasn’t cast yet and I saw Philip Seymour Hoffman[‘s audition] and I was laughing my ass off,” he recalled. “I’m like, ‘who the fuck is this guy?!? He’s hilarious!’ So I show Universal and I said, ‘can we cast this guy?? Are you good with him? I mean, you said fucking no to Odenkirk, are we ok with this guy?’ And they were like—and it took some talking into—and then they [finally] said yes.”
Sandler continued, “Then we offered it to him, and we get this call back, ‘yeah, like he doesn’t wanna do it.’ And we were like, ‘He doesn’t wanna do it? What do you mean, he auditioned!’ So, I go, ‘Let me fuckin’ talk to him, this guy and tell him how great he is.'” Sandler then explained how he rang up Philip Seymour Hoffman himself and basically got the same answer. “I called him up and said, ‘Hey, it’s Adam,’ and he’s like, [imitates this kind of shy, humble, timid, quiet voice], ‘Oh hey Adam.’ I go, ‘Hey, I saw your tape, you’re so great, buddy, and they said you don’t want to do it.’ And he goes, [imitates same voice], ‘Aww, thanks man.'”
Sandler then pressed Hoffman, “‘So, do you want to do it?’ And he goes, [imitates same voice], ‘Aww, I can’t.’ And I go, ‘Oh, why not?’ And he goes, [imitates same voice], Awww [pauses for a beat], ‘I just don’t want to.'” Sandler continued, “‘Are you sure? We’re gonna have great fun.’ And I go, ‘I really love you.’ And he goes, [imitates same voice], ‘I know you do,'” to which the all the host and audiences erupted in laughter and the story ended. “I swear to god!” Sandler said, punctuating the story.
The villainous role in “Billy Madison” ultimately went to Bradley Whitford, who’s gone on to have quite a successful film and television career. But it’s fun to imagine Hoffman in the role instead and what he might have brought to the part. As for Sandler, his latest film, “Hustle,” premiered on Netflix on June 3.