Adam Sandler names the greatest comedy actor of all time: “It was not even a question”
In the nicest possible way, Adam Sandler is probably the least offensive person in Hollywood to have spent almost their entire film career as a constant critical pariah.
Think of other names who’ve been repeatedly trashed for making so many unforgivable contributions to cinema, and the chances are high they’re a bit dickish. Uwe Boll? An arrogant bellend. Tommy Wiseau? Mysteriously aloof, and not in a good way. Steven Seagal? A prick, by most, if not all, accounts.
Then there’s Sandler. Reviews for his countless comedy vehicles have been scathing for 30 uninterrupted years, but nobody has a bad thing to say about the guy. Sure, a lot of his films are shit, but he’s committed to working with his close friends and family, keeping them constantly and gainfully employed, and having fun while he’s doing it, which is something most people would do if they had his resources.
He’s rich enough to do whatever he wants, and what he wants to do is spend his professional life surrounded by his nearest and dearest. His shtick isn’t for everyone, but seeing as it made billions of dollars at the box office before he became the jewel in Netflix’s original content crown, he’s got plenty of fans who’ve followed him for decades.
Not many of them would go out on a limb and call Sandler the greatest comedy actor of all time, though, even if an argument could be made that he’s right up there with the most popular. As far as he’s concerned, only one name deserves to reside at the top of the list, and it’s someone he spent a lot of time with as both a friend and creative collaborator.
“[Chris] Farley was a whole other level,” he said in Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller’s Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. “It was not even a question of who we all loved and thought was the funniest. When he walked into the room, that was it.”
The two instantly hit it off when they met on Saturday Night Live, and together with David Spade and Chris Rock, the comedic quartet shared an office during their stint on the sketch series. Even when they weren’t working, Sandler and Farley constantly hung out, came up with skits, and generally enjoyed each other’s company, never mind their appreciation for each other’s talents.
Their connection only deepened when they were either fired or let go from SNL on the same day, depending on who tells the story, and they’d work together on Airheads, Coneheads, and Billy Madison before Farley’s untimely passing in December 1997 at the age of 33. Even now, Sandler still pays tribute to his friend as part of his stand-up routine.
The Happy Madison founder’s ‘Chris Farley Song’ has become a staple of his live set, even though it makes him “so emotional” every time he performs it. “I see his face, and I remember his dad, and I remember I’m friends with his brothers and his mom and everybody, and they still miss him a lot,” he shared.
Somebody funny enough to leave the stone-faced Christian Bale in tears of laughter is nothing if not good at their job, and as far as the ‘Sandman’ is concerned, Farley is the best ever.
