Jeff Daniels Was Told Not To Audition For ‘Dumb And Dumber’

Daniels bet on himself, but the truth is, the outcome could’ve been much different.

Always bet on yourself and listen to your instincts. That was a great lesson learned by the legend himself, Jeff Daniels. As we’ll come to realize in this article, his representation wasn’t fond of the direction he wanted to take his career. For Daniels and his team, for the longest time, he was an actor chasing an Oscar role in a drama film. He elaborated with EW, “You know, I was doing a lot of dramas and heading towards an Oscars trail, whatever that is, and I just said, ‘I’m not doing what I was five years ago; I’m not interested.’ I am going to audition for that ‘Dumb and Dumber’ thing,”

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He bet on himself, but the truth is, the outcome could’ve been much different.

He Was Strongly Advised Not To Audition

During the prime of his career, Jeff made the bold decision to choose family first. Jeff wanted to raise his family in a quieter part of town, leaving the Hollywood hotspots for Michigan. Daniels thought his career wouldn’t last, therefore he’d rather already have a head start, “I didn’t know how to raise kids in New York or Los Angeles, but I did back home in Michigan. So I told my wife, ‘Let’s go back to Michigan,’ ” he says. “I honestly did not think my career would last. Careers don’t. I didn’t think I had the looks; so I thought when it’s over, let’s be home already. Fatalistically, I thought I’d get five more years and then I could do something else.”

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He worked on several great projects but then in 1994, came the biggest break of his career, Dumb And Dumber. He was strongly discouraged to even audition, given that his reps had a different vision for his career. However, Daniels knew it was time for something else and boy was he on the money, the role added ten years to his career, according to his words with the LA Daily News, “That got me another 10 years.”

Easy Chemistry

The battle to work alongside Jim Carrey was a fierce one. Ultimately, Carrey wanted someone who would react to him best and basically follow his lead. Several comedians auditioned but ultimately, nobody got the job done like Daniels. Working alongside Jim was a huge boost, as he revealed with EW, “Look who I get to react to. Jim is a comedic genius. There were comedians that wanted it, but he wanted an actor that would make him listen because he knew it was ping-pong, it was back and forth,” Daniels explained. “So I just let him lead, and [Daniels’ character] Harry Dunne was like on a half-second delay to whatever [Carrey’s character] Lloyd would do.”

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Looking back, we can safely say everything worked out for the better. Good on Daniels for changing course.

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Sources: IG, EW & LA Daily News

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About The Author Lance Smith (772 Articles Published)

Freelancer for Valnet since January 2014. Political Science Bachelor Degree from Concordia University.

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