The movie Burt Reynolds admitted he only made for the money: “We were whores”
While plenty of actors get into the business because they want to perfect their craft and fulfil their dream of becoming a performing artist, it can’t be overlooked that for those at the top of the tree, acting is one of the most lucrative jobs on the planet. Burt Reynolds knew it, even if he had his regrets over chasing the money.
Of course, nobody would go out on a limb and call the moustachioed embodiment of 1970s cinematic machismo one of the most talented thespians of his era, but he was definitely a movie star. The biggest in town for a spell, in fact, after he spent five consecutive years as Hollywood’s number one drawing card.
That was the struggle constantly at the heart of Reynolds, though: he was being offered high-paying roles in splashy action flicks that he knew would find an audience and make him even richer, which by extension meant that the industry’s most vaunted auteurs didn’t see him as a potent dramatic force who was capable of upending expectations and stretching himself with more challenging material.
In the long run, Reynolds probably wished he’d taken more risks because once his career began to slide downward in the 1980s, there was no coming back outside of his brief post-Boogie Nights resurgence. Even at that, he was happy to let everyone know that he hated Paul Thomas Anderson despite the director propelling him to his first and only Academy Award nomination.
The way Hollywood has worked for decades is that if a movie hits big, it gets a sequel. Obviously, it wasn’t quite as prominent in the 1970s as it was now, but Reynolds nonetheless seized the opportunity to play Bo Darville for a second time in Smokey and the Bandit II.
The original was the second highest-grossing release of 1977 in the United States behind only George Lucas’ monolithic Star Wars, earned an Oscar nod for its editing, and got Sally Field on the Golden Globes shortlist for ‘Best Actress – Musical or Comedy’. All in all, it was a resounding success for all involved, even if lightning didn’t strike twice when the sequel earned half as much at the box office and fared significantly worse with critics.
Speaking to Ain’t It Cool, Reynolds confessed that his reasons for making Smokey and the Bandit II were far from being creatively driven. “I wasn’t happy at all with the second one,” he said. “They were making it for the money, and we were whores, too. We played along. I wish we hadn’t. You know, there are some pictures that just don’t deserve a sequel. You should walk away from it.”
Reynolds did learn his lesson, albeit to a certain extent. He sat out Smokey and the Bandit III before agreeing to a last-minute cameo when he swung by the set for a visit, a decision he regretted even more than headlining the second chapter.
