NEED TO KNOW
Adam Sandler lined up epic celebrity cameos for Happy Gilmore 2, including Eminem. However, he was hesitant to call in favors from his many famous friends.
The actor, 58, admitted he “always” feels “like a jerk” when he has to put in a request for a favor, during a July appearance on The Dan Patrick Show.
“I get those [same] calls, and you go, ‘What happened? I was going to have a normal Saturday, and now I’ve got to do this because I picked up the phone?’ So I don’t love doing it,” he explained.
Sandler does feel differently if his team “write[s] something funny.”
Scott Yamano/Netflix
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
He said that was the case with Eminem (a.k.a. Marshall Mathers) with the sequel to his 1996 classic Happy Gilmore. In the movie, the rapper plays a character named Donald Jr., who is the son of the late Joe Flaherty’s character from the original.
Sandler knew Eminem would be perfect for the part. “I love Eminem. I’m friends with Eminem, but I don’t want to bother the man. And everyone kept saying, ‘Man, Eminem would be so funny in this part.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t want to ruin this guy’s time. He’s hanging out. He’s in Detroit. He’s doing his life, making records.’ And then I started going, ‘But it certainly would be funny if he did it,’ ” he recalled.
Convinced, he said that he decided to “bug” Eminem. Sandler recalled telling the rapper, “Dude, I know it’s a pain in the ass, but it’s pretty funny,” adding that he wondered if Eminem would mind “shooting out to us for a day.”
“Then he’s like, ‘Yeah. Yeah, send me the stuff,’ ” he said.
Reflecting on his friendship with Eminem, Sandler said that they met during a visit to Saturday Night Live.
“I wasn’t on the show anymore, and I was sitting at an afterparty. I went by SNL just to hang out, I think,” he shared. “I was at a table with all my guys, and he was the musical guest with Dre. And we were at the afterparty, and then Marshall walked by our table, and he looked at me, and I looked at him like, ‘Oh yeah. That kid’s pretty damn cool.’ And then he goes, ‘Bobby Boucher! I go, ‘Oh yes, that’s what’s up, Marshall.’ Then we became friendly after that.”
Happy Gilmore 2 has been a huge success for Sandler. Released on Netflix July 25, it took the top spot on Netflix’s movie chart, according to the streaming platform. With 46.7 million views in three days, it became the biggest U.S. movie opening weekend for Netflix.
