Kathy Bates, the acclaimed Emmy and Oscar-winning actress, recently revealed a surprising detail about her involvement in the 1998 film The Waterboy. Initially, Bates discarded the script due to her unfamiliarity with Adam Sandler.
Unfamiliar with Sandler
In a video interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bates recounted her first encounter with the script. "I didn’t know who Adam Sandler was and I got a script. It was a football script, and I was like, ‘Oh, let’s give me a football.’ Twelve pages I read and I thought, ‘Oh man, I can’t do this thing. This is ridiculous,’” she explained. Bates admitted to tossing the script in the trash.
Her niece, who works alongside her, noticed the discarded script. "She said, ‘What is this?’ So I said, ‘It’s a script that some kid Adam Sandler [wrote],’ and she went, ‘Adam Sandler! You don’t know the Hanukkah song?” Bates' niece was referencing Sandler's popular “The Chanukah Song,” which debuted on Saturday Night Live in 1994.
Revisiting the Script
Encouraged by her niece's enthusiasm, Bates decided to give the script another chance. "So I took another look at it, and I thought, well, I’ll do this for Linda. Turns out we had the most fun. He’s brilliant. He’s a genius,” said Bates. She further added, “I dove in the deep end and just had a great time. Just screwed around. And I loved working with him. That’s when he first started really getting known and people really flocking to see him.”
In The Waterboy, Bates played the role of Mama Boucher, the protective mother of Sandler’s character, Bobby Boucher, who is a socially awkward water boy.
Almost Passing on 'Matlock'
Bates revealed she nearly made a similar decision with the legal drama Matlock. She initially dismissed the script as just another procedural. "Matlock is a miracle for me,” Bates shared. “I had one foot out the door. A film that I did not too long before just was such a heartbreaking disappointment. You know, at my age, I’m going to be 80 in two years, I just thought, this is not working out, it’s not giving me any happiness.”
Her friend in New York, Billy, convinced her to finish reading the script. "He said, ‘Did you read it? Did you finish it?’ He said, ‘Read it to the end.’ So, I read and, of course, it’s got this great twist at the end. And I thought, ‘OK, now we’re talking,’” Bates recalled.
Success with 'Matlock'
The series, which has been renewed for a third season, features Bates as Madeline Matlock, who returns to work at a prestigious law firm, employing clever tactics to win cases. Bates expressed gratitude for the opportunity, noting, "A lot of people in this industry are out of work, and so a big part of our joy is that we have a place to go every day. We have something wonderful to make.”
Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kathy-bates-didnt-know-adam-sandler-waterboy-script-1236626445/
