- Joe Pesci, Home Alone, 1990. It was so patently obvious that the kid of the hour – Macauley Culkin – was going to steal everything but the cinema seats that most of The Names avoided the burglar clown called Harry Lime, more of a fourth Stooge than Orson Welles. Those refusing to be second banana to a moppet included Rowan Atkinson, Robert De Niro, Danny De Vito, Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Jon Lovitz and two musical Brits: Phil Collins and Dudley Moore. ”Hardest thing for Pesci,” said cinematographer Julio Macat, “was not swearing!
- Martin Lawrence, Bad Boys, 1994. With their first Disney project ready to go in Miami in February 1993, producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer suddenly called off their $20m teaming of Lovitz and Dana Carvey – on a pay-or-play deal – and kick-started the cop-art a year later with black stars. “Not my fault,” said Lovitz. “I passed up two other movies to do Bad Boys. It was a big mess. I’ll never go pay-or-play again.” Or not for only $750,000.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 2