Jeff Daniels is on a roll as an overconfident Southern real estate tycoon in Netflix’s “A Man in Full.” But more than 30 years ago, the young play actor, who was starring in the Oscar-winning 1983 film Terms of Endearment and 1985’s The Purple Rose of Cairo, took a chance on his career.
Despite his agent’s warnings, Daniels ended up starring as the “IQ8” Harry alongside Jim Carrey’s dimwitted Lloyd in the unashamedly silly 1994 comedy “Dumb and Dumber.” agreed.
“My agents said, ‘You’re a serious actor. This is not the direction you should go. We’re going to shut this down and take you out of this movie,’ but they… I wasn’t wrong,” Daniels recalls. “But I wanted to shake things up with comedy, and I wanted to work with Jim Carrey.”
Daniels, 69, reflected on Dumb and Dumber, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and why the infamous toilet scene was such a critical issue.
“A Man in Full” on Netflix:Jeff Daniels is a man that people hate.
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How Jim Carrey drove Jeff Daniels to ‘Dumb and Dumber’
Daniels knew that behind Carrie’s quirky dynamics, big risks were disappearing in this comedy written and directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. Therefore, it was important that scenes featuring Harry’s hijinks (the more humiliating the better) stood out. The script included scenes in which Harry sticks his tongue to a frozen pole and endures severe intestinal problems in the bathroom of his girlfriend Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly).
The actor was cast even though the film studio wanted a comedian for the role.
“I was like, I had a scene. I knew I was going to score,” Daniels said. “If[the Farrelly brothers]cut them, the movie would be ‘Jim and the Other Man.'”
They weren’t cut. But when it came to filming the scene in which Harry suffers a lengthy bowel cleansing in Mary’s bathroom after drinking laxative tea given to her by her jealous best friend Lloyd, Daniels cut her teeth. I clenched my teeth. He suddenly felt insecure about his own serious acting career.
“It’s one thing to read a bathroom scene, but the day comes when you actually do a bathroom scene,” Daniels says. “I told Jim, ‘This is either the beginning or the end of my career.'” A fearless Jim told me, “This is either the beginning or the end of my career.” “Just try until the end.”
The pep talk sent Daniels over the edge, and the actor went all out in the bathroom.
“It was hours of porcelain gymnastics,” Daniels says. “And a close-up of it as it hits my red face. I’ve been doing it for so long I almost passed out.”
Clint Eastwood was a fan and sympathetic victim of the toilet scene in ‘Dumb and Dumber’
There are many movie fans who love “Dumb and Dumber,” but they love the toilet scene. Like Clint Eastwood, who introduced himself to Daniels at a celebrity golf tournament, congratulated him, and sympathized with him.
“Clint said to me, ‘I just saw ‘Dumb and Dumber,’ and you see the bathroom scene? That’s what happened to me,” Daniels recalled. “And he tells a story about the time he went on a date with this woman. He really wanted to make a good impression, and a shellfish from lunch hit him.”
Any worries about Daniels’ career were quickly, well, washed away.
“I went above and beyond to do my job,” Daniels says. “In terms of comedy scenes, that toilet scene will probably outlive us. It’ll still be funny 40 years from now.”
In most other scenes, Daniels followed the lead of comedy superstar Carrey, pulling off a “Dumb and Dumber” combination.
“As Lloyd, let Jim be the leader. You want him to be that way. Don’t try to compete with him,” Daniels says. “Let him go through the door first, and you follow like a puppy on a leash.”
“Dumb and Dumber” was a $127 million box office hit and gained an even bigger cult following, leading to the 2014 sequel “Dumb and Dumber Two.” The continued success of the original version has far exceeded Daniels’ expectations.
“I thought 12-year-old boys would go see it,” Daniels said. “We weren’t prepared for the demonstrations to last from 8 to 8 p.m. People still walk up to me like I’m their own ‘Citizen Kane.’ I’ll come.”
