Movies - TV
Why Howie In Uncut Gems ‘Had To Be’ Adam Sandler
By ERIN BRADY
In an interview with Complex, directing duo Benny and Josh Safdie explained why the role of Howie in “Uncut Gems” could only be played by Adam Sandler. The part required someone audiences could still root for, despite Howie’s flaws — and Sandler’s underdog aura fit perfectly, as Benny remarked, “It only works if you root for [Howie], and that's why it had to be Adam.”
Although Sandler didn’t descend into method acting, Benny told Complex that Sandler would constantly have his character on his mind, even when his acting persona dropped. Benny said, “Even during downtime on set when Adam would be out of character, he would then just spend that time thinking about, like, why Howard did the things he did in character that day.”
It wasn't just the introspection and analysis of Howie that Sandler was seemingly interested in, as the actor also did plenty of research on the world of jewelers, talking to prominent influencers in the market like Ben Baller. A lot of this research was then applied to how he portrayed Howie, achieving that balance between cartoonishly down-on-his-luck and sleazily optimistic.