Tom Hanks is surely a generational talent, who has showcased his unmatched versatility, and exceptional ability to portray his roles in an authentic manner across various genres and eras. For his bewitching performances, people thought of him as a generational talent that they get to witness once in a lifetime. Hanks has rarely made a bad film. And he has worked with some of the biggest filmmakers as well as celebrities in the industry.
The Larry Crowne actor has headlined in numerous films, and though he has a few flops in his resume his career is mainly filled with roles that he almost played or the ones he missed out on. One such instance was when he almost lost his iconic role in Bachelor Party to another future Hollywood A-list actor, Jim Carrey.
Jim Carrey Nearly Stole Tom Hanks’ Role in Bachelor Party
While Tom Hanks has worked in numerous drama films, from romance dramas to war dramas, and has left a lasting impression in the minds of the audience. However, he rose to fame in the 1980s as a comedy star, he started his career with the popular TV Series Bosom Buddies, making his film debut in the 1980 horror film He Knows You’re Alone. Though it took him a few years, it was only after the success of Splash that confirmed his spot as an A-tier actor.
When Tom Hanks established himself in the comedy genre, hence in 1984 while working in Splash, he played the lead role in a raunchy comedy film, Bachelor Party. According to Vulture, even though Tom Hanks secured the role of Rick Gassko in the adult comedy film, he was very close to losing his role to Jim Carrey because he was “more than capable of pulling off an energetic performance akin to what Hanks does here, and his comic persona would work well within this movie’s absurd universe.”
Jim Carrey would have been a great alternative in place of Tom Hanks, though he had just started his career. Though he had earned praise for his performance in The Duck Factory, his first production. Then, in 1985, he played the role of a teen getting targeted by a vampire in his supernatural adult humor, Once Bitten. Though working in the 1984 film would have made him an instant A-tier actor, he did not have to struggle for another decade.
Jim Carrey Practised Physical Comedy For Liar Liar
Jim Carrey’s portrayal of Fletcher Reede in Liar Liar required a lot of physicality. He had to showcase that his character gets nervous because he can not lie. During a conversation with The Los Angeles Times, the 61-year-old actor acknowledged that the role in the film was physically taxing for him.
“We had a little story come out on the set about me screaming and yelling before a take. A story came out in the Globe about how I was out of control. So for a couple of days I was kind of calm, and Tom [Shadyac] said, ‘You know what? Don’t even listen to that stuff, man. Just scream your head off if you need to.’”
Tom Shadyac, the director of Liar Liar had immense faith in Carrey as the two had worked previously on several films. According to Shayac in a Reddit AMA, he praised Carrey for improvising a lot, and he was not just being silly.
“Jim is an incredible improviser. He’s flat out a genius when it comes to creating fresh moments during a scene. And yes, he improvises a lot. But that’s always after he’s thought about the script from every angle. So he does his homework, considers every written choice, acts the written choice for us, then is free to let it rip!”
The Bruce Almighty actor received a Golden Globe animation for Best Actor in the comedy film, and his performance received praise from both, the critics and the audience.
Bachelor Party can be streamed on Netflix.
Source: Vulture
