Actor Ryan Reynolds reveals he took drastic measures to line up the cast for the documentary “John Candy: I Like Me,” even involving his son.
“I did terrible things to get Bill Murray,” Reynolds said, before noting that “he doesn’t use a fax machine anymore.”
“So he had to find other means. There was a cellular telephone device, which he got, which you could call, and I called it.”
Unable to contact Murray, Reynolds, who also produced the documentary, took desperate measures and decided to send a video message, as he was running out of time.
“This is when my 2-year-old son just enters from [like] a horror movie, it’s 11:30 at night, this kid should be out cold,” Reynolds said.
“I said ‘I’m sending a video to Bill, tell Bill to do the interview,’ and he looks right at the camera and he goes ‘Do the interview, Bill,’ and I said, ‘Say no to a kid like that, then we’ll know what kind of a monster you are,' and then I just hung up.”
The documentary, directed by Colin Hanks, is described as a “portrait” of the Canadian actor John Candy, who died in 1994 at the age of 43.
It will explore the comedian’s life and legacy, while going beyond the persona and delivering a behind-the-scenes look at the actor.
Murray, best known for his roles in “Ghostbusters” (1984), “Caddyshack” (1980), and “Groundhog Day” (1993), appeared alongside Candy in the 1981 film “Stripes.”
Born in Ontario, Canada, in 1950, Candy is considered one of the funniest character actors of his generation and is best known for comedy classics “Uncle Buck” (1989), “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” (1987), and “The Great Outdoors” (1988).
