‘The bag was fumbled’: David Alan Grier revisits two comedy what-ifs that could have altered his career
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The comedy legend already has several iconic roles under his belt, from “In Living Color” to “Boomerang” and even Rev. Leon Lonnie Love on “Martin.” But two notable ’90s roles still escaped him.
David Alan Grier’s legacy in comedy is already stamped. “In Living Color,” “Boomerang,” his guest stints as characters like “Rev. Leon Lonnie Love,” and even his appearances on Broadway from “A Soldier’s Play,” for which he won a Tony Award. But even with those successes, he still turned down some roles that eventually became cultural phenomena.
During an interview on “Today with Jenna & Sheinelle,” Grier admitted he turned down the title character of Ace Ventura for “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.” The role eventually went to his “In Living Color” co-star Jim Carrey but according to Grier, the script that he was given paled in comparison to the final version that ended up on screens and helped catapult Carrey into global stardom.
“I passed on it because it was a bad script,” he said. “What I didn’t see is what Jim saw, which was, ‘Can I do anything?’ He took that script, and he reinvented it. And that’s why it was so successful.”
With Carrey given the freedom to use his physical brand of comedy with the character, Ace Ventura became a smash hit in 1994, leading to one of the biggest years for a comedian at the time. Carrey would go on to star in “The Mask” and “Dumb and Dumber” that year, as “Ace Ventura” would lead to a sequel, an animated series and a made-for-TV spinoff. In sum, Carrey’s three films in 1994 would earn over $700 million at the box office and make him the first comedian ever to earn a $20 million payday for a single film.
Although “In Living Color” helped reshape the standard for sketch comedy on television, another series would become a smash success on NBC. That show was “Seinfeld.” Grier auditioned for the role of George Costanza, Jerry Seinfeld’s best friend, but couldn’t find a creative groove with Seinfeld; the role went to someone else.
“I auditioned for George Costanza,” Grier said. “And I read with Jerry, and it was like, ‘George, tell me about your day.’ And I’m like, ‘This man, he can’t act. It’s not funny. This will never be a hit.’”
Ultimately, Jason Alexander landed the role of Costanza, and “Seinfeld” ran for nine seasons on NBC. Still, it is not about every role you turn down but the roles you turn into gold. Grier is no stranger to hit comedies on NBC, having starred in “The Carmichael Show” and currently in “St. Denis Medical.”
But still, those are two bags he readily admits he “fumbled.”