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Like father, like daughter!
Julie Bowen gave PEOPLE a behind-the-scenes look at Adam Sandler’s working relationship with his daughters, Sadie, 16, and Sunny, 18, both of whom he stars alongside in Happy Gilmore 2.
“They are great. They are really, really great. They’re wonderful young women to begin with,” Bowen, who reprises her role as Virginia Venit in the sequel, tells PEOPLE of Sandler’s two children ahead of the movie’s Netflix release on Friday, July 25.
Sadie, meanwhile, is taking the performing arts profession seriously, and takes classes at New York University Tisch School of the Arts — some that even coincided with her rehearsal schedule for Happy Gilmore 2.
“Sadie’s studying acting, so she was in school while we were doing it, but she would come to the set,” Bowen shares. “Sunny was there all the time. It is so sweet to see him interact with them,” she adds of Sandler and his daughters.
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Bowen, who’s previously worked with the Sandler girls and their dad on 2020’s Hubie Halloween, cited a few examples of what the father-daughter relationship looked like on set.
“He gives them notes and direction and stuff — but also just the level of support,” the actress shares.
Bowen describes Sandler as “a dude.” Specifically, a “dude’s dude,” she makes clear.
“I met him as a dude’s dude, and he was surrounded by dudes,” Bowen triples down. “And now he’s got these women who are his daughters, and he really meets them where they are… One of them was like, ‘Oh, I feel like this outfit isn’t flattering. This wardrobe isn’t flattering.’ ”
“He’s like, ‘Then we’re going to change it because you need to feel good about yourself’. And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I want you as my dad!’ He’s so kind and thoughtful and really puts his kids’ well-being first. It’s amazing.”
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Earlier in July, Sandler opened up about working alongside his two daughters, whom he shares with longtime wife Jackie.
“Oh my god, you’re just relieved,” he told E! News. “Once they do it well, nothing feels better as a parent,” said Sandler. “It must be like when you’re the parents of a baseball player and you’re at the game and they get a hit. You just go, ‘Thank god.’ It’s just so much relief.”
In addition to the Sandler girls, Happy Gilmore 2 is stacked with surprise cameos and celebrity guest stars, from Bad Bunny to Travis Kelce. In June, Christopher McDonald, who reprises his role as the villainous Shooter McGavin, praised the Kansas City Chiefs star when speaking with PEOPLE.
“I just really liked him as a person,” McDonald told PEOPLE exclusively if Kelce, noting, “He is really funny. Way too handsome, by the way, but really a good actor actually.”
“Surprisingly good,” he added.
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While McDonald was careful not to reveal too many details ahead of the sequel’s release, he did weigh in on Kelce’s golf skills.
“I think he’s got game,” the actor said of the NFL star, admitting that they “did not” get to play together while filming.
“He’s a good athlete,” McDonald continued of Kelce. “He’s a beast. I’m sure he kills the ball.”
In addition to Kelce, McDonald — who told PEOPLE that fans should expect a “plot twist” from his Shooter role in the sequel — raved about the slew of other surprise cameos in the film, in addition to original cast members.
“Everyone that’s still with us, I have been in touch with,” he said of the returning cast from 1996’s Happy Gilmore. “They’re great people. It’s great to have them back… like Kevin Nealon, one of the funniest guys I’ve ever known, great to see him back.”
