The Horror Film That Nearly Starred Tiffany Haddish
Tiffany Haddish has made quite the name for herself over the past few years. As the star of movies like "Girls Trip" and TV shows like "The Last O.G.,"she has made quite the impact — and that's before we mention the many projects she has on deck at the time of this writing. That said, any time an actor is coming up in the world, there are inevitably going to be some projects that get away from them. Will Smith turned down Neo in "The Matrix." Nicolas Cage could have been in "Lord of the Rings." It happens frequently. It turns out that Haddish already has one of these stories in her career, as she could have starred in one of the biggest horror movies of the past 25 years.
Tiffany Haddish turned down Get Out
The connection comes from Tiffany Haddish's previous work with filmmaker Jordan Peele, who worked with her on the comedy film "Keanu," in addition to serving as a producer on her series "The Last O.G." As movie lovers are surely aware, Peele has become one of the great modern genre directors, which all started thanks to his Oscar-winning 2017 smash hit "Get Out." As it turns out, Haddish had the chance to star in the movie in the role of Georgina, a role that was ultimately played by Betty Gabriel.
Haddish made the reveal during an interview with Seth Myers on "Late Night" back in 2018. The comedian and actress explained that she simply wasn't game to make a horror movie:
"He asked me to audition for it. He let me read it and asked me to audition and I was like, 'Aw man. Look, I don't do scary movies, dog, I don't do that. You know, that's demonized kind of stuff. I don't let that in my house.' He's like, 'It's not really demons. I'm like, 'That's a white man trying to people's souls out of their body and opening up their brains. That sounds like some demon stuff to me.' I'm cool on that! I'll watch it in the daytime, but I'm not gonna be in it."
At the time of this interview, the movie had been established as an Oscar-winning hit. But Haddish seemed to have no regrets about her decision and seemed to be holding very firm to the notion that she simply wasn't going to make any scary movies in her career. Period.
What could have been
Even though Haddish seems quite firm in her resolve, one has to imagine she had a question or two in the back of her mind once "Get Out" was released. Hitting theaters in February of 2017, the movie was met with near-universal praise from critics, serving as one of the most heralded horror movies of the century so far. Aside from that, it did absolute gangbusters business at the box office, taking in $255 million worldwide against a tiny $4.5 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo.
Beyond that, the film managed to endure in the consciousness long enough to make it to the Oscars the following year, earning four major nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Daniel Kaluuya), and Best Original Screenplay. Peele walked away with the win for Best Original Screenplay, cementing an absolutely stellar run for the movie. All of this to say, it's the kind of movie that seemingly any actor would love to be a part of, especially for someone like Haddish, who was only just starting to pop in a big way at that time. Imagine being able to add this movie to the old resume!
Everything worked out fine
Despite this being a perceived missed opportunity, things worked out quite well for all parties. Peele knocked the ball out of the park about as hard as a ball can be hit out of a park with "Get Out," and Gabriel did a great job as Georgina in the film. So it would be tough to imagine that anyone involved in that production would go back in time and change anything about it.
From Haddish's perspective, things also worked out pretty darn well. In 2017, she starred in the smash-hit comedy "Girls Trip," which truly boosted her profile in Hollywood. In the years since, she's starred in other hits such as "Night School" and "The Secret Life of Pets 2." She also starred in the acclaimed Netflix comedy "Bad Trip" in 2021, as well as the much-acclaimed movie "The Card Counter" alongside Oscar Isaac. Haddish has had even more success on the small screen, lending her voice to shows such as "Solar Opposites" and "Tuca & Bertie." More recently, she starred in "The Afterparty," which has been met with much acclaim since it premiered on Apple TV+.
All of this to say, it is hard to imagine that Haddish has any misgivings about the way her career has evolved in the years since turning down that audition. It's tough to imagine that would have hurt matters, but she certainly hasn't struggled to find her way to sustained success and that has no signs of slowing down. Still, as is almost always the case with stories like this, it's hard not to wonder what might have been or what the movie might have looked like with Haddish in the role.