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Before starring in 2019's Uncut Gems, Adam Sandler's career was at a standstill following a series of "subpar" comedy movies.
Thanks to directors, Josh and Benny Safdie, the former Saturday Night Live star was given a chance to prove his range as a comedic actor by playing a gambling addict. He even put his life at risk while shooting the film.
How Adam Sandler Was Cast In 'Uncut Gems'
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in May 2020, Sandler revealed that the Safdie brothers reached out to his agent for the role. "Oh man, I didn't get to meet 'em. I didn't know!" said the Happy Gilmore star about the casting process. "But I guess they talked to [my agent] and he probably didn't think the timing was right, I had other stuff cookin'. But this age feels like it makes more sense." In December 2019, Josh said that Sandler was their first-ever choice for the lead role.
"We knew that we needed a character who you loved, who had this patriarchal quality, who was lovable and could be grounded in absurd scenarios. And from the very beginning, we knew it was Adam Sandler," he told Vox. "In 2015, we tried to get him." However, Sandler was initially unavailable to do the movie. The directors then tried to cast other comedians such as the controversial Sacha Baron Cohen and Jonah Hill—who was selected after Martin Scorsese came on board as Uncut Gems' executive producer.
However, they only "went down the road" with Cohen for a short time. As for Hill, Josh said that it didn't work out because the Wolf of Wall Street star got "carried away" with his other projects back then.
"Martin Scorsese got involved, which really elevated the profile of the project. Jonah Hill wanted to work together [with him], and we thought it'd be really cool to work with our contemporaries," Josh shared, adding that they eventually struggled working with the actor because they "couldn't figure out a way to 'youth' the character down," as Hill "got carried away and got swept up with his own film [Mid90s] and then the subsequent shooting of Maniac."
How Adam Sandler Almost Died While Filming 'Uncut Gems'
In the same interview with EW, Josh said that Sandler would get lost in his character during brutal fight scenes that it got "a little scary one or two times.
"The director said that despite the actor making "a conscious choice" not to bring his family on set, he brought the character home with him, with his bruises. "Oh my goodness, yes. The boys went at me pretty good — they beat me up I'd say maybe 120 different angles worth. And yeah I had some spots on my body," the Hotel Transylvania star recalled. Josh said that "He literally looked like a cheetah, black spots all the way up and down his right and left arms."
The filmmaker added that "there was one take when Sandler was getting choked and he was trying to tap out, but the [other] actor thought that he was just being Howard so he choked harder, and Adam couldn't breathe."
EW then asked if they "didn't have a safe word," to which Josh responded: "A safe word? He couldn't speak! [Laughs] But he never said anything till after we cut and then he was like, 'Thank you.'" He also "thought it was amazing that when his [Sandler's] wife Jackie saw the movie she was like,'It wasn't you, it was a totally different person on the screen.'"
Adam Sandler Is Reuniting With The Safdie Brothers
In April 2022, Sandler confirmed to EW that he was "going to do another movie with the Safdie brothers." He didn't spill any details but he said it's already in the works.
"They're working hard on it," the Wedding Singer star said of the directors. "Their work ethic is bananas. They're always working, always writing, always thinking. I don't know what I can tell you, but it's gonna be very exciting. It's different. But I don't want them to ever say, 'What the hell did you tell him that for?' So I'll just let them talk [about it]."
A lot has changed in Sandler's career post-Uncut Gems. Recently, he's earned a lot of praises for his new film, Hustle—which is now available on Netflix. Vulture's Bilge Ebiri called it "Pure Adam Sandler Wish Fulfillment."
The writer noted that in the actor's comedic roles, he always, "counters authenticity with honesty," but that in this new movie, "the authenticity and the honesty finally come together​​​​​​​" as he plays Stanley Sugerman, a scout for the Philadelphia 76ers.