Legendary star Warren Beatty is renowned for giving spectacular performances in some of the finest works ever since the 1950s. Now over 86 years old, the actor cum filmmaker has stunned people with films like Dick Tracy and Bonnie and Clyde. But while he bagged tons of amazing roles back in the day, he has also missed the chance to star in some of the finest films of all time, and that too, purposedly.
The same happened with the most legendary Oscar-nominated Mark Wahlberg film back in 1997, Boogie Nights: Though Beatty initially got cast in the movie, he later ended up turning it down for a very bizarre reason.
The Hilariously Absurd Reason Why Warren Beatty Couldn’t Make It Into Boogie Nights
Back when the casting for Boogie Nights was still underway, among other actors, filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson was particularly interested in one actor to play one main character: Warren Beatty for the role of Jack Horner, the adult film director.
Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Anderson mentioned how the Dick Tracy star almost became a part of the Boogie Nights:
“I sent [Warren Beatty] the script and asked him to be in it [for the part of Jack Horner]. That’s what we talked about, having conversations about him doing the film.”
However, after a few weeks of discussing it, the director realized that they were not on the same track. While Anderson wanted him to play Horner, Beatty wanted to play a completely different character: the 18-year-old Dirk Diggler.
“I realized a couple of weeks into it [that] there was a bit of confusion that he thought that I was asking him to play Dirk Diggler. [I said] ‘But you know you’re in your 60s. He’s like, ‘I know, but I think I could do it.'”
Obviously, the 60-year-old Warren Beatty for the role of the young superstar was out of the question, and Paul Thomas Anderson tried to convince the Bonnie and Clyde actor to agree to the role of Jack Horner. However, he ended up turning it down and someone else got cast into the role.
Warren Beatty Loved The Movie Though
Since Warren Beatty straight-on rejected him, Burt Reynolds got cast into the role of the filmmaker instead, and the then-26-year-old Mark Wahlberg was selected to play the 18-year-old Dirk Diggler.
However, that didn’t mean Beatty held any grudge against Anderson for not casting him for the role he wanted. Instead, he watched the Oscar-nominated movie and even ended up praising the filmmaker for it.
Continuing to share the story of how the Dick Tracy actor called him up to share his review on the film on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, director Paul Thomas Anderson said:
“[Warren Beatty] did [watch the movie and talked to me about it afterward]. He really enjoyed it, he thought Mark [Wahlberg] did a good job.”
As for the role of Jack Horner: Burt Reynolds, who replaced Warren Beatty, scored an Oscar nod for Best Actor in a Supporting Role!
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live!
