JEFF Daniels has revealed he was worried one scene in Dumb and Dumber would lead to the end of his career.
The actor, who starred in the comedy with Jim Carrey, was warned by his agents not to take the role.
Jeff is a well-respected actor, known for his roles in dramatic movies like The Martian and television shows like The Newsroom.
That’s why the 69-year-old admitted he took a big risk when he signed on to play Harry in the 1994 comedy.
“I had agents, who weren’t wrong, telling me, ‘You’re a serious actor. This is not the direction you need to be going. We’re going to stop this and get you off this movie,'” Jeff recently told USA Today. “But I wanted to shake it up with a comedy. And I wanted to work with Jim Carrey.”
Jeff just didn’t know how much shaking he would eventually be doing – especially in the famous toilet scene, in which Harry has a negative reaction after drinking some tea laced with laxatives.
“It’s one thing to read the toilet scene, but then the day comes and we’re actually going to do the toilet scene,” he recalled. “I told Jim, ‘This is either the beginning of my career or the end of it.’ “
Luckily, Jim, who already had a series of outlandish comedies under his belt, gave Jeff a poop pep talk.
“Jim, who is fearless, told me, ‘It’s going to be great. You’ve just got to go all the way with it.’ “
And he did.
“That was a couple hours of porcelain gymnastics,” Jeff reminisced. “And that close-up when they pop in tight on my red face. I had been doing it so long, I had almost passed out.”
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Dumb and Dumber is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. As is another Jeff Daniels classic, which could one day be revived.
Most annoying sound in the world
This time, Jeff played partner to Keanu Reeves, in the blockbuster Speed.
The action thriller, which was directed by Jan de Bont, turned Sandra Bullock into a star.
The film is about a former bomb squad officer and co-worker of Keanu and Jeff who riggs a Los Angeles public transit bus with a bomb set to explode if it slows below 50 mph.
Speed wound up being the fifth-highest-grossing movie of the year, banking more than $350 million.
This is either the beginning of my career, or the end of it.”
Jeff Daniels
A sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control, was not as well received, and this time the bomb was in the box office.
NEED FOR MORE SPEED?
Now, with the 30th anniversary, movie stars Keanu and Sandra say they’d be interested in a Speed 3.
The pair joined the 50 MPH podcast on May 6 and discussed the possibility of a sequel.
Although Keanu was not in Speed 2 with Sandra, he would love to reunite for a third movie.
“I mean, you know — we’d freakin’ knock it out of the park,” he said on the podcast.
Sandra agreed with her co-star, who she also starred in The Lake House with in 2006.
“There’s no formula. It just is,” she said.
“Before I die, before I leave this planet, I do think that Keanu and I need to do something in front of the camera. Are we, you know, in wheelchairs or with walkers? Maybe. Are we on little scooters at Disneyland?”
Keanu added, “It does feel like there is a siren call to it, like there’s something that wasn’t done. I would love to work with you again before our eyes close.”
