In my eyes, and many other fans of the movie Tommy Boy, it’s a hilarious masterpiece and is by far one of the best comedies of the '90s. And now that it’s officially 30 years old (and counting), even more detailed facts about the Farley & Spade classic are coming to light. The film’s director Peter Segal recounted Matthew McConaughey’s bid to play Paul Barish (Rob Lowe’s character) and his unforgettably stinky filming location.
Segal talked all things Tommy Boy with EW during the film’s big anniversary and of its 4K re-release. One of the many highlights of the conversation was when he shared McConaughey’s audition and the experience surrounding it. While the 50 First Dates director was only familiar with Dazed & Confused in regards to the young star, he had him try out as production began. This is where he says it got weird, though–the location McConaughey chose to perform in was covered with mouse droppings:
I remember that we were shooting the scene by the lake, and I had been familiar with Dazed and Confused, but I think that was the only thing I had known of McConaughey at the time. And we went into some— it was either the restroom or it was like a boat house, but it was on the edge of the lake, and it was just filled with mouse s—.
Yikes. I’m sure audition locale stories are full of wild and weird specificities like this one, but it’s quite a choice regardless. I don’t think many productions would be receptive to that kind of take in an audition, except maybe for Dave Eggers and his live rats on Nosferatu. Even still, it doesn’t add up for the 1995 midwestern comedy.
Segal was frank about the situation but added their original pick, Brat Packer Rob Lowe, was able to come back on board. He shared:
But that's where he auditioned. And then, Rob's schedule changed, and we ended up going with Rob. But yeah, it was a bizarre place to do an audition, that's for sure.
You can say that again. What odd choices, but I do think the Interstellar star could’ve done the no-gooder ‘step brother’ part justice. I’m glad it worked out as it did, and Tommy Boy isn’t anywhere on Matthew McConaughey’s best movies. Who knows whether or not the already troubled project would’ve gotten the official ax it was slated for if Lowe hadn’t been available? (I’d rather not think about it!)
Another notable casting happening for the Farley film was that Bo Derek joined Tommy Boy essentially at the last minute. Derek played Beverly, the scheming stepmother to Tommy Callahan. While she was unsure of what actually happened, she believes someone dropped out or another conflict happened quickly BTS. Regardless of what happened there, I’m glad that she and the Parks & Rec actor teamed up to try and wreak havoc for everyone connected to the Callahans.
As for McConaughey missing out on Tommy Boy for his choice of audition location–we all know he made out just fine. His newest movie (of two this year), The Rivals of Amziah King, is his return to live action after a 6 year hiatus (not counting his tiny cameo in the MCU universe) and received high praise. Let’s just hope he learned his lesson about filming around animal excrement. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go rewatch Tommy Boy for the millionth time with Tubi and sit with the fact it's been around for 30 years.