Anna Faris Learned a Valuable Lesson After Feeling Insecure Over Her ‘Scary Movie’ Co-Star
Actor Anna Faris famously collaborated with Shawn and Marlon Wayans in the popular Scary Movie franchise. But with the film being one of her first projects, she remembered feeling a bit insecure when seeing one of her more glamorous co-stars.
How Keenen Ivory Wayans helped Anna Faris get over her insecurities
Keenen Ivory Wayans took a bit of a gamble when he cast newcomer Faris for Scary Movie. Before the hit comedy, Faris only had two other acting credits to her name. One of which was the 1996 drama Eden, and the other being the 1999 slasher Lovers Lane. Both genres were pretty far away from the comedies Faris would be famous for doing. But the Wayans brothers were having a difficult time finding the right actor for Cindy. After getting a glimpse of Faris, however, they thought she might be perfect for the role despite her shoddy audition.
“I started the audition with my mom recording me on one of those big, old VHS cameras hoisted on her shoulder,” Faris once told Variety. “And then with the second scene I went to my neighbors and I was like, ‘My mom can’t do this audition with me because it’s way too raunchy. Can you film it for me’ So I sent it in, and they asked me to come down. I packed a tiny bag and stayed on a friend’s couch in Burbank and bummed rides to go down for these auditions. They kept asking me to stay, so eventually I had to go buy some new clothes, which at the time it felt like, ‘I can’t even afford a cab, I certainly can’t afford a hotel.’”
But even after nabbing the feature, Faris had a few insecurities regarding the project that she needed to deal with. Since this was her first major film role, and she had little experience with comedy, she was constantly afraid of being fired.
“I never thought of myself doing comedy, and my college room-mate was aghast that I was cast. She kept saying to me, ‘But you’re not funny,’” Faris once said according to The Scotsman.
She also recalled experiencing a bit of insecurity when she saw her Scary Movie co-star Shannon Elizabeth. Elizabeth might have been slightly more well known at the time as she was just coming off of the famous American Pie film. But Faris’ confidence seemed to take a blow due to Elizabeth’s physical appearance more than anything else. It was at that moment when Keenen gave Faris some much-needed advice that continued to help her in her comedy career.
“I don’t know if Keenen noticed, but at that moment he leaned over to me and said, ‘You can’t be vain and funny at the same time.’ And he was right. I’ve played a lot of roles that aren’t very flattering, and they do require a lack of vanity. It was a life lesson through all the work that I do,” Faris recalled.
How Anna Faris felt about the Wayans Bros. leaving the ‘Scary Movie’ franchise
The Wayans brothers played a pivotal part in landing Faris her breakthrough role. When Keenen was asked why he took a chance on Faris, it was because Faris displayed similar qualities to her Scary Movie counterpart.
“I think there has to be an earnestness in any character,” Faris once recalled to New York Magazine. “A sincerity for whatever their belief system is. I asked Keenen Wayans a few times, kind of indulgently, ‘Why would you cast me?’ He finally said, ‘Because you had no idea what you were doing.’ I knew that part! I used to feel a tremendous pressure to do drama, especially when I couldn’t even get auditions because I was known as the spoof girl.”
The Wayans, however, would eventually move on from the franchise. The franchise would adopt a new writing team, with David Zucker directing Scary Movie 3 and 4. According to Black Film, Faris initially found it challenging doing the series without the Wayans’ involvement. But she reassured that Zucker was an adequate replacement for the third installment.
“Originally when we found out the Wayanses weren’t involved; it was hard because we’re both close with the family,” she said. “They pretty much taught me everything I know, and they’re also a whole lot of fun to work with. But David created the genre. We’re both big fans of Airplane and Naked Gun and that whole series, so we were in really good hands. And working with David, he’s such a gentleman. He’s so kind and calm. So it was a different environment sort of energy-wise on the set.”
