"Lost Roles" is a weekly column exploring "what might have been" in movie and TV comedy as we examine close casting calls, abandoned projects, and other things that never came to be. This week, we're closing out the column after 2+ years by taking a look at a long list of comedians who almost became SNL cast members over the past 18 years. Check out last week's piece about near-miss SNL cast members from 1975 to 1995.
Most comedians dream of being on SNL – whether they're stand-ups, improvisers, or sketch actors. The show is one of the few places in comedy that has found a home for all three main [...]
"Lost Roles" is a weekly column taking a different actor, comedian, or writer each week and examining all of the movies and TV shows they almost made but didn't, for one reason or another. This week, we turn our attention to Marc Maron, host of the wildly-popular podcast WTF and the star/creator of the upcoming IFC series Maron.
After making his TV debut in 1989, Maron struggled for two decades to surpass a certain level of fame. Although he made regular TV appearances and was a successful stand-up, it took his pioneering podcast to make Maron a household name. Throughout his long journey to the top, Marc Maron [...]
Steve Carell's magician comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone hits theaters tomorrow, and like most movies, it took a long time to come together. When the project was originally put into development in 2006, it was called Burt Dickenson: The Most Powerful Magician on Planet Earth, and the movie has changed shape a lot in the years since. Directors Jake Kasdan and Charles McDougall each came and went before the studio finally found 30 Rock's Don Scardino, who got the thing made. A number of actors either tried out for or passed on parts in Burt Wonderstone, from movie stars to character actors to nichey comedians. Let's take a look [...]
Lost Roles is a weekly column exploring “what might have been” in movie and TV comedy as we take a different actor, writer, or comedian each week and examine the parts they turned down, wanted but didn’t get, and the projects that fell apart altogether. This week, we turn our attention to Seth Rogen, an actor/writer/producer who got a series of early starts in his career. Rogen began doing stand-up at 12, writing movies at 13, starring in network TV shows at 17, writing professionally at 19, and becoming a movie star at 25. Like every actor, Seth Rogen has had his share of close calls with big [...]
Lost Roles is a weekly column exploring "what might have been" in movie and TV comedy as we take a different actor, writer, or comedian each week and examine the parts they turned down, wanted but didn’t get, and the projects that fell apart altogether. This week, we turn our attention to Peter Sellers, regarded as one of the greatest comedic actors that ever was. Renowned for his chameleonic abilities, Sellers proved capable of disappearing into a wide array of characters, from bumbling French detectives to sinister German scientists. Let's take a look at some of the parts Peter Sellers almost played but didn't, including Charlie Chaplin, Willy Wonka, [...]
