Actors Who Refused To Be In Adam Sandler Movies

Adam Sandler made his feature film debut in 1989's "Going Overboard" alongside a cast that included Billy Zane, Billy Bob Thornton, and Milton Berle. But it wasn't until after his big break on "Saturday Night Live" the following year that he began to take the lead in hit movies like 1995's "Billy Madison," 1996's "Happy Gilmore," and 1998's "The Wedding Singer." While Sandler continued to write, produce, and star in hit comedy after hit comedy, he also broadened his career by appearing in critically acclaimed dramas like "Punch-Drunk Love," "Reign Over Me," "Uncut Gems," and "Hustle."

With a wide variety of successful films under his belt, Adam Sandler has attracted a diverse range of talented actors to appear in his movies, from dramatic heavy hitters like Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, and Al Pacino to award winning leading ladies like Winona Ryder, Jennifer Aniston, and Drew Barrymore.

But while the likes of Billy Idol, Carl Weathers, Harvey Keitel, and Patricia Arquette have made appearances, there are some actors who have simply refused to be in an Adam Sandler movie. Who turned down these roles? Why didn't they want to feature alongside the comedic powerhouse? Did they make the right choice? Let's find out.

Adam Sandler's first of many Netflix films was the Western parody "The Ridiculous 6." The film starred Sandler as a man raised by Native Americans who soon meets his biological father (Nick Nolte) and learns he has numerous half-brothers (Terry Crews, Jorge Garcia, Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, and Luke Wilson). The brothers all team up to save their newfound and recently kidnapped father.

Despite its eclectic cast — which also includes Harvey Keitel, Steve Zahn, Vanilla Ice, and Will Forte — critics and audiences alike were less than pleased with the movie, earning it a shockingly low 0% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes with only a slightly higher audience score of a little over 30%. Many criticized the film as racially insensitive, with loads of unfunny jokes that relied on terrible stereotypes. But it wasn't just the audience saying so — this criticism also came from some of the movie's own cast members.

As reported by Indian Country Today, many of the Native American extras were upset at the lowbrow jokes and inaccurate costumes, leading about a dozen, including Loren Anthony and the Native cultural advisor, to leave the set in protest. Netflix responded to the controversy, telling Vulture, "The movie has ridiculous in the title for a reason: because it is ridiculous. It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of — but in on — the joke." Perhaps the film's low approval rating proves that Sandler should have listened to the criticisms raised.

Following the highly successful "Billy Madison" was Adam Sandler's classic 1996 sports comedy "Happy Gilmore." The film chronicles the journey of failed ice hockey player Happy Gilmore, who soon discovers his talents transfer better to the world of professional golf. His more rambunctious style rankles his uptight competitor Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), who begins to resort to nefarious means to get Gilmore off the course.

McDonald's portrayal of Shooter is truly iconic, and a role he's still known for to this day, but it almost didn't happen. In an interview with Alex Withrow for And So It Begins, McDonald confirmed that he actually turned down the role twice and clarified the reason for his initial reluctance. "I was tired, I wanted to see more of my family."

Fortunately, McDonald changed his mind after winning a game of golf. "That high was something else. So, with my golf shoes still on, I went in the locker room, called my agent and said, 'Is that golf movie still available, because I just won this tournament and I'm feeling a little bit, well, Shooterish.'"

McDonald was cast and movie magic was made. McDonald enjoyed the freedom he was given to improv and make sure his character didn't just play to all of the cliched bad guy tropes. Though he initially declined the role, he now looks back on the film as a blessing. "[W]e really had fun with that one," he reflected. "And the fact that that movie is still on people's minds is great."

Adam Sandler once again traded in comedy for drama in 2007, taking the lead role of Charlie Fineman in "Reign Over Me." After Charlie loses his wife and daughter in the World Trade Center attacks, he cuts himself off from the world and gets lost in music and video games.

Though Sandler does a remarkable job portraying the grief and depression of his character, the role was not originally written with him in mind. Instead, writer-director Mike Binder wrote the film for "Mission: Impossible" star Tom Cruise. After Cruise turned down the role, his replacement was suggested by Javier Bardem, who was originally cast in the co-lead role that eventually went to Don Cheadle when Bardem dropped out of the film due to scheduling issues.

Binder recalle brainstorming with Bardem in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "Bardem and I were throwing out ideas. He walks over to the shelf and he looks at the 'Punch Drunk Love' DVD in my collection on my wall," Binder said. "Bardem doesn't know a lot about American cinema, and he says, 'Who is this man, this actor? He's brilliant.' And I say, 'You don't know who that is?' And he says, 'No. I've only seen him in this movie, but I love him ... Think about him. He's so wounded.'"

While Tom Cruise would surely have had an interesting take on the character, Sandler brings an intense humanity to the role that a star like Cruise might have distracted from.

After the successful comedy "Happy Gilmore," Adam Sandler again returned to sports for the 1998 football comedy "The Waterboy." Sandler stars as the titular waterboy Bobby Boucher, who lives with his overbearing mother, Helen (Kathy Bates). When Bobby winds up playing football instead of just handing out water, he begins to make his way out from under his mother's thumb and into the real world.

The Academy Award-winning actress almost didn't play the iconic role of the Waterboy's mother, as her agent didn't like the script (via SBNation). "But they made an offer, so legally, she had to send me the script," Bates recalled. "And I read the first 12 pages, and it was about football, and it was kind of silly, so I tossed it in the trash next to my bed."

Fortunately, Bates' niece saw the script and recognized Adam Sandler's name. She convinced Bates to give the script another chance. Bates now looks back at her time on the film fondly. "[T]here's many experiences I've had that have been more difficult or unpleasant or didn't turn out the way I wanted them to turn out," she said. "This was one of the happy experiences that I've had."

While Adam Sandler has acted in several dramatic films, none have had quite as much impact as his portrayal of gambling addict Howard Ratner in the 2019 film "Uncut Gems." Critics praised his performance and many believed the film would earn Sandler his first Oscar nomination. While the gold statue evaded the Sandman, he still managed to nab best actor wins from the Independent Spirit Awards, the National Board of Review, and the Boston Society of Film Critics. But he almost didn't take the role.

Filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie initially reached out to Sandler's management in 2015, but were told he was unavailable (per Vox). The brothers moved on to other actors, including "Borat" comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and "The Wolf of Wall Street" star Jonah Hill. After struggling with trying to de-age the character, Hill eventually left to star in other films.

With more films under their belt, including the critically acclaimed Robert Pattinson-led thriller "Good Time," the Safdie brothers decided to reach out to Sandler one more time. Luckily, this time he agreed to the role, ushering in a whole new era of critical respect and acclaim.