During Punch-Drunk Love, Adam Sandler Saw A Lot Of Chris Farley In Philip Seymour Hoffman
Adam Sandler is best known for his goofy comedic films, but he has also had several renowned dramatic roles. Perhaps his most compelling performance was in the 2002 film "Punch-Drunk Love," written and directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson. The cast also included Philip Seymour Hoffman, an Academy Award-winning actor and a frequent collaborator of Anderson's. Hoffman plays Sandler's adversary onscreen, an angry mattress salesman, but the two developed a great rapport behind the scenes.
Sandler agreed to work with Anderson because he was a fan of his previous films, "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia," he told Charlie Rose. Consequently, it came as no surprise when he learned that Philip Seymour Hoffman, who had major roles in both films, would be playing a supporting role in "Punch-Drunk Love." The two actors actually met years before ever setting foot on the set. In fact, Hoffman actually auditioned for the part of Eric Gordon in Sandler's 1995 film "Billy Madison," meaning he almost played Sandler's antagonist twice.
"I saw Philip Seymour Hoffman [audition] and I was laughing my a** off," Sandler recalled on the Fly on the Wall podcast. "I'm like, 'Who the f*** is this guy?!? He's hilarious!'" The comedian even convinced Universal to offer Hoffman the part, but things didn't go as planned. "We get this call back, 'Yeah, like he doesn't wanna do it," Sandler recounted. "And we were like, 'He doesn't wanna do it? What do you mean, he auditioned!'" The "Saturday Night Live" veteran was in disbelief. He was sure that if he could get Hoffman on the phone, the actor would change his mind. Perhaps it's because Sandler saw a little bit of one of his closest comedy cohorts in Hoffman's persona.
Hoffman had Farley's charisma
Sandler saw Hoffman act for the first time when he auditioned for "Billy Madison" and recognized his talent instantly. When the young actor turned down the role, Sandler was crestfallen. "I called him up and said, 'Hey, it's Adam... I saw your tape, you're so great, buddy...' And he goes, 'Aww, thanks man.' 'So, do you want to do it?' And he goes, 'Aww, I can't.' And I go, 'Oh, why not?' And he goes, 'Awww ... I just don't want to.' 'Are you sure? We're gonna have great fun.' And I go, 'I really love you.' And he goes, 'I know you do.'"
When the pair later co-starred in "Punch-Drunk Love," there were no hard feelings between them. Sandler still admired Hoffman, and was even a bit intimidated by him. "I remember rehearsing a lot with Philip," Sandler recalled in a live Q&A for Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confusd podcast. "Being together at Paul's house and doing those scenes together, and him going full tilt at rehearsal. I would get scared and nervous and wanna make sure that there was a reason that I was in the scene, 'cause he just took over."
Over the course of these rehearsals, Sandler and Hoffman became good friends. "I got close with Hoff. He was a really funny guy, great, strong," Sandler reminisced. Hoffman tragically passed away in 2014 at only 46 years old. As fate would have it, the actor reminded Sandler of another friend and collaborator of his who passed at a young age."You know who he reminded me of? [Chris] Farley. He reminded me of Farley," Sandler concluded.
Sandler and Hoffman grew close making Punch Drunk Love
Farley was on "Saturday Night Live" in the early '90s, the same time as Sandler. He co-starred with David Spade in the films "Tommy Boy" and "Black Sheep," and had supporting roles in other films with Sandler like "Airheads" and "Coneheads." In Sandler's words, "[Farley] had this same kind of power to him, where you watched everything he did... I just liked watching him." Hoffman, too possessed this same magic. "Being in scenes with him — I mean, it was almost 20 years ago, but I do remember being excited," Sandler recalled.
Most of the interactions between Hoffman and Sandler in "Punch-Drunk Love" were over the phone, but both actors would be on-set at the same time when shooting either side of the call. "PTA always made every phone call, everything was always the real people," Sandler explained. "So we were always together. I was always hearing him and he was hearing me." This allowed the actors to bounce off of each other more naturally in their scenes together. Additionally, it gave them more time to get to know each other.
"We don't talk that much about the film at all when we're on the set," Hoffman said in a 2002 interview at Cannes, per Movie List. "The talking's done before we start shooting a lot of the time, and then when we get there, we just... have a lot of laughs and try to get the best work possible." Although he and Sandler never collaborated again, it's clear that they both had an excellent time working together, and they helped to create a cinematic masterpiece in the process.