It’s hard to imagine someone else playing the iconic role of Ferris Bueller in the classic 1986 film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
But that was almost a reality, according to star Matthew Broderick, who confessed he almost passed on the wildly popular teen comedy directed by John Hughes.
It turns out his apprehension was mainly due to fears of being typecast as the actor who talks to the camera, which in the end, is what helped endear his character to legion of fans over the past four decades.
Legendary: Matthew Broderick confessed he almost didn’t take the iconic lead role in the 1986 teen comedy classic, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
‘I thought [the script] was great, and I had a teeny hesitation because having just done [the plays] Brighton Beach [Memoirs] and Biloxi [Blues],’ Broderick, now 58, confessed during an interview with Sirius XM’s Quarantined with Bruce Bozz.
‘I was like, “Wow, I’m talking to the audience, just like in these plays… and even in [the 1985 movie] Ladyhawke he talks to the camera a bit.’
He added, ‘You know, when you’re young or starting out you think, “I have to do something different.”‘
His hesitancy: Broderick, now 58, said his apprehension to taking the role was mainly due to fears of being typecast as the actor who talks to the camera
The push: People close to Broderick urged him to say yes to the film, in part, because John Hughes was the writer and director; Broderick is pictured with co-stars Mia Sara and Alan Ruck
While mulling over whether to say yes the role, people close to Broderick kept urging him to take it, which was due in part, to Hughes being the helm. Up until that time in the mid-1980’s, the director’s resume included The Breakfast Club (1985), Weird Science (1985), Sixteen Candles (1984) and the two of the three National Lampoon’s Vacation films (1983, 1985).
‘My memory is, before I had hung up the phone, he was like behind me in the room, saying, “Yes, you should do it.’” the young actor recalled of his agent’s insistence.
‘He flew to New York. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Let’s just not talk about it anymore now, I’ll see you tomorrow,” and he came and was suddenly in the room with me, saying, “Yeah, I do think you should do it.”‘
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was among the top grossing film of 1986, earning $70.1 million on a $5.8 million budget; Jeffrey Duncan Jones’ role of Edward R. Rooney has also gone on to iconic status over the last four decades
Obviously, the move was a good one, considering the movie, which also starred Mia Sara, Alan Ruck and Jeffrey Duncan Jones, went on to be one of the top earners of the year, raking-in $70.1 million on a $5.8 million budget.
What’s more: the film was acclaimed by both fans and critics, and has since gone on to be considered a classic. By 2014, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, being deemed ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.’
Hughes confessed he wrote the screenplay in less than a week, and that the shoot only went from September through November of 1985.
Classic: The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2014, being deemed ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant’