Emmy-winning actor John Lithgow reveals that he almost missed out on his role in a five-time Oscar-winning movie due to scheduling conflicts with Footloose. Lithgow first rose to prominence with a role in Brian De Palma’s Obsession before scoring his breakout role in The World According to Garp, for which he received an Oscar nomination. His filmography is diverse, with the actor enjoying acclaim for early roles before branching into comedy with films like Harry and the Hendersons. Lithgow later expanded to villainous roles in movies like Cliffhanger and Raising Cain.
In addition to movies, Lithgow has enjoyed success on the small screen, winning Primetime Emmy Awards for roles in 3rd Rock From the Sun, Dexter, and The Crown. He remains one of the most prominent and respected film and TV actors in the industry. One of Lithgow’s most beloved roles came as Reverend Shaw Moore in Kevin Bacon’s musical drama Footloose, but the scheduling of the movie almost cost him another iconic role in a five-time Academy Award-winning film that was released the year before.
Lithgow’s Role In Terms Of Endearment Was Once Under Threat
Scheduling Conflicts With Footloose Jeopardized His Casting
Terms of Endearment was written and directed by James L. Brooks, and is considered to be one of the defining movies of the ’80s and one of the great Hollywood tearjerkers. It follows the 30-year relationship between Aurora Greenway and her daughter Emma. Starring Debra Winger and Shirley MacLaine, the movie grossed $165 million against a production budget of $8 million. Lithgow’s role as Sam Burns earned him his second Oscar nomination, but his work on Footloose almost threatened to derail his involvement in the movie.
Terms of Endearment won Best Picture at the Oscars, as well as Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress for MacLaine, and Best Supporting Actor for Jack Nicholson.
In a career retrospective with Variety, Lithgow revealed that he was shooting Terms of Endearment concurrently with Footloose, and that the conflict had almost caused him to lose his part in the former. Lithgow explained how it all worked out, with Paramount even getting involved when things almost fell apart. He said:
I did this concurrently with Footloose. Herb Ross [director of Footloose] had us for two weeks to rehearse before Footloose started shooting, and I got a call on a Saturday morning from my agent saying, “They want you to replace an actor in Terms of Endearment.” There had been another playing the role of Sam Burns, and he’d played two scenes, and they just decided, “This is not right.”
They asked Herb if he would spring me loose for a week to come and shoot the entire role of Sam Burns. And Herb said no, that he couldn’t do without me for that week. And I had read the script, I thought, “Oh my God, I gotta be in this movie. It’s gonna be so great. Arguably, I’d rather do this than Footloose!”
Fortunately, both films were produced by Paramount, and Barry Diller and Jeffrey Katzenberg were in charge for Terms of Endearment and Footloose. They were both Paramount films. And they said to Herb, “You’re gonna spring him loose, and he’s gonna be in Terms of Endearment.” Otherwise, I never would’ve been in like the best movie I’ve ever been in. With an Oscar nomination for five days of work.
Our Take On Lithgow’s Scheduling Dilemma
Conflicts Happen All The Time & He Got Very Lucky
Scheduling conflicts happen regularly, and actors often miss out on famous and iconic roles because they were doing something else at the time. Lithgow is fortunate that Paramount was overseeing both movies, and that each project had the same producers attached. Otherwise, it’s likely he would not have been able to appear in Terms of Endearment. This is a part that set him on the path to the notable career he’s had, and Lithgow’s upcoming role as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter TV show might not have happened had he not had this opportunity decades prior.
Source: Variety
