'21 Jump Street' star Rob Riggle says more original comedies 'need to get a look' not reboots (exclusive)
The culture of movie reboots is showing no sign of stopping with several classic properties set to be remade in the coming years.
An American Werewolf in London, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Great Outdoors are just a few of the comedy films that are getting a second look, but not everyone is on board.
Rob Riggle, who starred in 2012’s 21 Jump Street reboot, hinted as much when asked for his opinion on the rebooting practice.
“I don’t wanna get in trouble here but there are a lot of great original scripts floating around Hollywood [pause] great comedy scripts,” the actor told Yahoo Movies.
“They need to get a look.”
Riggle has appeared in several high profile Hollywood comedies over the years after making an impact as a special correspondent on The Daily Show and a cast member on Saturday Night Live.
He’s frequently starred opposite Will Ferrell, in movies like Step Brothers, The Other Guys and Telladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, but now takes on a more dramatic role in Midnight Sun.
The film, based on the Japanese film Song to the Sun, follows a teenage girl Katie (Bella Thorne) with the disease xeroderma pigmentosum, that prevents her from going out into sunlight, and how she tries to live a normal life, including falling in love.
Riggle plays her single father, Jack, a role that he’s not used to getting.
“I’m primarily a comedic actor and that’s how I came up, but this town, it’s very difficult to move out of your lane and move into another lane so I was very pleased and grateful to get the opportunity,” the actor explained.
“We don’t even get the scripts! They don’t even send comedians the dramatic scripts so just the fact that I got the opportunity, you know, I had to read for this and push for this. I’m just glad they gave me a shot.”
The film has some pretty emotional moments as Katie’s disease progressively gets worse and they ready themselves for the worst. Riggle says that for these tearful moments, he thought about it happening to his own daughter.
“You have to be willing to be vulnerable which is really hard to do,” Rob said. “For me, I personalised it, I personalise a lot of things, then when you personalise it and take ownership of it then it’s in you and then it comes from within you.
“I have a daughter, a teenage daughter, and I tried to imagine if she was struggling with this or if she was going through something like this, or if I was going to lose her, then it becomes very easy to emote.”
Riggle wouldn’t be the first comedy actor to take a dramatic turn – Mo’Nique won an Oscar for her role in the drama Precious while Steve Carrell earned an Oscar nomination for Foxcatcher – and the Midnight Sun star is hoping for the chance to achieve the same.
“I would love the opportunity, that’s all I can ask for, the opportunity,” he explained. “If they give me the opportunity I will do my absolute best, and be as honest and truthful as I can, and that’s really all you can do at the end of the day.
“Whether people accept it or they don’t accept it that’s totally out of my hands. But yeah, course I want that.”
Midnight Sun is out on Friday
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