The movie Sam Rockwell quit after a drunken night out: “And then I split”
Like every big-name actor, Sam Rockwell has missed out on his fair share of iconic roles.
He auditioned for the part of the Schofield Kid in Unforgiven, but completely blew it. He passed on an unnamed role in The Incredibles, denying him a place in animation history, and then there’s a movie that still sends shivers down Chris Rock’s spine: GI Jane.
Starring Demi Moore as Jordan O’Neil (no, the character isn’t called Jane), a woman fighting for gender equality in the US military, she is chosen to take part in a gruelling boot camp designed to push her to her limits, with the stipulation that if she passes, then the Navy will agree to integrate women into all of their operations. Ridley Scott once described it as the best “pro-women” film ever made, although he would, given that he directed it.
The rest of the cast features the likes of Jim Caviezel, Anne Bancroft, and Viggo Mortensen, and Rockwell’s name could have been on that list too, had he not backed out of the movie prior to shooting. Speaking to Jimmy Kimmel on his talk show, the Oscar winner reflected on this period of his career and revealed that the rigorous training that the role required was what ultimately pushed him away.
“I was in the water a little more than I wanted to be,” he recalled, “I was really, really skinny at the time, and I didn’t have a lot of body fat on me, and I was getting early hyperthermia…I did the boot camp, and then I split.”
According to Moore herself, the actors were put through a modified, yet still brutal version of real Navy SEAL training, with the instructor refusing to call the star by her real name, only referring to her as her character.
However, the worst part about this whole ordeal is that it absolutely did not pay off, as GI Jane was met with lukewarm reviews by critics. Although she was praised for stepping out of her comfort zone, Moore was still awarded ‘Worst Actress’ by the Golden Raspberry Awards that same year. It was a financial success, though, and Moore herself has spoken about how proud of it she is, but the film still left a dark mark against her name.
Rockwell also revealed that it was a night out with Moore that made him come to his senses. She had just finished making Striptease, the infamous sex comedy that began her career downturn, and had gotten to know a few real-life erotic dancers through the project, inviting some of them to pay her new castmates a visit.
“She got all these strippers and the Navy Seals and the actors, and got us drunk on tequila,” Rockwell continued, “The strippers and Demi Moore shaved our heads, and we got drunk with Navy Seals and got lap dances.”
It might be something of a cult classic these days, but at the time, Rockwell definitely made the right choice by passing on GI Jane; at least he got a pretty fun story out of it.
