In the “Scream” film series, Neve Campbell is the perennial Final Girl, and when casting “Scary Movie,” director Keenen Ivory Wayans was in search of the perfect comedic actress to play her counterpart (via CheatSheet). Eventually the role went to actress Anna Faris, but surprisingly, it wasn’t her comedic timing that earned her the part — but rather her earnestness.
“[Sarcasm] is not my go-to and it certainly wasn’t when I was 22 and totally new in LA. So, when I auditioned, I was totally committed. I never broke character, and Keenen Ivory Wayans, who directed the movie, couldn’t stop laughing. Like, really laughing. I was so baffled,” Faris revealed on her podcast, “Anna Faris Is Unqualified”.
“What was I doing that was funny? I had no clue. Later into the filming process, in a total moment of ‘Daddy, please like me,’ I indulgently asked Keenen why he hired me. ‘Because you had no idea what you were doing,’ he told me,” Faris added.
Whatever Faris was doing, it worked. She later became a household name and helped the film earn well over $250 million at the box office, per The Numbers.
