Billy Bob Thornton Beat Out Major Competition for the Bad Santa Role
Billy Bob Thornton Beat Out Major Competition for the Bad Santa Role
It’s impossible to imagine anyone but Billy Bob Thornton in the title role of Bad Santa, but he wasn’t the first choice to play Willie Soke.
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It’s hard to imagine anyone but Billy Bob Thornton playing Willie T. Soke, the titular Bad Santa. The role of the foul-mouthed, booze-soaked safecracker/mall Santa is one of the most memorable of Thornton’s long career. And Thornton’s misanthropic turn was a forebearer for characters like Rick Sanchez.
As hard as it might be to imagine anyone else in the starring role of the anti-Christmas classic — and its less-heralded sequel — Thornton wasn’t the first choice for the role. From the time the Coen Brothers developed the movie’s concept until Thornton took the role, a number of A-list actors were in the running for what turned out to be an iconic character, including an actor best known for his revolutionary role on The Sopranos.
The Coen Brothers, who served as executive producers on Bad Santa, requested screenwriters John Requa and Glenn Ficarra write the role of Soke for Tony Soprano himself, James Gandolfini. The Coens had worked with Gandolfini on the neo-noir The Man Who Wasn’t There. Coincidentally, Thornton played the lead in that movie.
The Coens had specific actors in mind for more than just the lead role. They also wanted veteran Seinfeld actor Danny Woodburn to play Soke’s partner in crime, Marcus, and Two and a Half Men’s Angus T. Jones for the role of Thurman Merman, the child whom Willie forms an unlikely bond with. None of that came to pass, however. Tony Cox took the role of Marcus, and Brett Kelly took the role of Thurman.
When Gandolfini didn’t take the role for reasons that haven’t been elaborated on by anyone involved with the production, Bill Murray was the next actor attached to the Bad Santa role. However, he apparently lost interest. Requa told the New York Times that Murray stopped returning Miramax’s calls about playing Soke, which isn’t an uncommon move on his part, as anyone who has followed his involvement in the Ghostbusters franchise can attest to.
Still, Murray wasn’t the only big-name actor in the running to play Soke. According to producer Bob Weinstein, Miramax also pitched the role to Robert De Niro, who was “going to do it” at one point. Thornton himself noted that acting lifer Nicolas Cage and Sean Penn were also in the running for the role.
After Thornton’s agent passed the script along to him, it didn’t take much to convince him to take the part. After reading “maybe a third of it,” Thornton called his agent back and told him he had to play the character. His casting paid off in the short and long term. Bad Santa was a surprise hit upon release in 2003, earning 76.5 million dollars during its theatrical run. It remains a cult classic to this day.
It’s interesting to think of how some of these actors would have played the role of Soke. It’s hard to believe Nicolas Cage has never brought his particular brand of intensity to the role of an off-kilter Santa Claus before, for instance. Thoughts of what might have been are less prevalent with Bad Santa than other movies because Thornton was so great in the role. While it wasn’t the plan from the beginning, things worked out for the best when Thornton got the job.
Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/bad-santa-other-actors-who-almost-starred/
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