Chris Farley “didn’t love” that he had to pass on starring in The Cable Guy in order to film Black Sheep, David Spade revealed in a new episode of his Fly on the Wall podcast.
Farley was attached to the title role in The Cable Guy when Columbia Pictures bought the script in 1994 and was set to make $3 million on the film. The Saturday Night Live star signed on to do Tommy Boy that same year, which involved a two-picture deal with Paramount.
He ultimately had to step away from Cable Guy to film Black Sheep as a result, and the job went to Jim Carrey, who played an intrusive TV technician opposite Matthew Broderick.
“We were riding off of Tommy Boy‚” said Spade, who co-starred with Farley both on SNL and in the 1995 comedy hit. “We’re just like, ‘We’re just doing Tommy Boy again with a different title. It’s fun. Let’s do it.’ I mean, everyone’s fine with it. We all know the scam. We’re just going to be out there acting stupid again.”
Asked by guest Jake Johnson whether Farley was “p---ed” or “fine with it” when he learned he had to turn down The Cable Guy, Spade revealed, “He didn’t love it.”
Spade also said that before Black Sheep was official, Farley tried not-so-subtly to delay its production.
“‘You know,’” said Spade, impersonating Farley, “‘if you don’t think it’s ready we can always do it next summer,’” adding that was “so obvious” what he was trying to do.
Ultimately, Farley’s delays tactics didn’t work and he had no choice but to make the de facto Tommy Boy sequel with Spade instead of starring in what ended up being Carrey’s first box office failure—despite becoming the first actor to make $20 million upfront for the movie.
