#WAR MOVIE STILLER SERIES#

The two had been friends since working together on Mission: Improbable, a short film parody for the MTV Movie Awards in 2000. Stiller cast Tom Cruise in the part, which was a cameo at the time. If Reeves had done well in the part, however, the film’s success could have brought about a resurgence in his career as a comedic actor.Īfter Ben Stiller nixed the Keanu Reeves idea, he opted to cast himself as Tugg Speedman, leaving the role of superagent Rick Peck wide open. Depending on how he would have handled the part, Tropic Thunder could have turned into the kind of misguided big budget film it was satirizing. If Tropic Thunder somehow received funding and was made with Keanu Reeves and Ben Stiller occupying these parts, audiences might not have warmed to Reeves as a comic actor and the film may have failed.

Dreamworks may have been less-likely to hand over the $100 million budget Stiller received to make the film if it didn’t have a proven comedy star at its center. in blackface, the film’s portrayal of mental retardation). Placing Reeves as Tropic Thunder’s lead would have been a bold choice, especially considering the project’s already-high risk factor (i.e. One thing’s for sure: Ben Stiller’s version of Rick Peck would have been more over-the-top than Matthew McConaughey’s – and funnier too. Playing a supporting role would have allowed Stiller to devote more time to his directing and producing duties, but burying the popular actor in a small part could have hurt the film’s chances of success. It would have been fun seeing Reeves send up his image, but, in the end, Ben Stiller was the right man for the job.īen Stiller played a sleazy Hollywood agent on The Ben Stiller Show, so he would have felt right at home as Rick Peck.

#WAR MOVIE STILLER SERIES#

Both actor’s fame has mainly come from action films ( Speed and The Matrix series for Reeves), and back in 2007 when Tropic Thunder was filming, they each needed a hit after a series of underperforming films. Reeves playing Speedman would have added an extra layer of reality to Tropic Thunder, especially considering Reeves and the fictional Speedman’s careers were in similar places at the time. Reeves wouldn’t have been able to take the character to the strange depths that Stiller does, but he would have one advantage over Stiller in this part: his status as an action star. Speedman is a fool, sure, but he’s a different than the carefree pseudo-stoner Reeves is adept at playing. While Reeves was amusing as a spaced-out slacker in these early parts, that’s not exactly what the role of Tugg Speedman calls for. Intentionally comedic performances are rare for Keanu Reeves these days, but some of the actors first roles are in comedies like Parenthood and the Bill & Ted films. With Reeves as the movie’s lead, Stiller envisioned himself as two-faced agent Rick Peck, a role that went to Matthew McConaughey in the actual movie. Stiller originally planned on casting Keanu Reeves as action star Tugg Speedman, a role he eventually ended up playing. Keanu Reeves as Tugg Speedman with Ben Stiller as Rick Peck While Tropic Thunder is expertly cast and doesn’t have any weak links, some of the original ideas are pretty intriguing. Ben Stiller assembled an impressive ensemble cast that also included Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte, Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey, and cameos from a dozens of other big names. He began writing the script with Justin Theroux (and later Etan Coen), and they developed the project off and on for nearly ten years before production finally began. After There’s Something About Mary made him a bonafide movie star a decade later, Stiller had the power to get the film made. Lost Roles is a weekly series that examines the missed opportunities - the roles that could have been - and explores how some casting choices that almost happened could have changed the film industry and the comedy world, at large.īen Stiller had been kicking around the idea for Tropic Thunder since filming a small part in the 1987 Steven Spielberg World War II epic Empire of the Sun, so it’s no wonder a whole bevy of possible actors went through his head before the eventual cast was set.

Thus, casting directors and filmmakers consider a variety of possibilities before production begins. Placing the right actors in the right roles can determine whether or not an entire film rings true. Casting is one of the most important processes in moviemaking.

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