If Bio-Dome was Stephen’s flop, then The Usual Suspects may be his best film. The film premiered in 1995, with Stephen playing the role of Michael McManus. Baldwin had grown tired of doing independent films due to unmet expectations and was ready for a change.
When he met director Bryan Singer, Stephen had a 15-minute monologue about what it would be like for Singer to work with him. But Singer wasn’t put off by Stephen’s speech and told him exactly what he expected from his role in the film and what he wanted as a director. Stephen appreciated his directness and clarity and the two went forward to create a successful film, especially in the eyes of the audience
And Five Makes A Family?
After seeing their mutual love for children and having a large family, you would wonder if Alec and Hilaria still want more kids. But, having five small children, Hilaria has confessed that she may be ready to call the family complete.
She shared about her (joyful) fatigue with having a big brood and that both she and Alec have no plans to expand their family further.
Leave The Bad In The Past
Some films are so awful that they leave a lasting impression. Unfortunately, Stephen was in a less-than-stellar film. In 1996, he starred in the comedy “Bio-Dome,” which was directed by Jason Bloom, and co-starred Pauly Shore. The film was a sort of unusual buddy flick and, though the film received an unsettling 4% on Rotten Tomatoes, there was actually a sequel in discussion.
It may interest you to know that, in 1996, both the film and Shore won a Razzie Award. In 2013, Stephen shared on Mancow Muller’s radio show that he was speaking with Shore about making a sequel. But the project never gained momentum and was never picked up. Some projects are better left in the past.
A Behind-the-Scenes Fact
If you saw The Usual Suspects, you may remember that one of the most iconic scenes from the film was the police line-up. Apparently, the actors struggled with their lines for the scene which led to screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie feeding them their lines off-camera. When Stephen said his line, the other actors couldn’t help but break character.
Actor Gabriel Byrne remembers that they often burst out laughing and could barely keep it together between takes. Kevin Spacey admitted that the hardest part was trying not to laugh, but Stephen and Kevin Pollak were the worst offenders when it came to breaking character.
One Last Interesting Fact
Another interesting fact about that scene: their goal was to get the typically serious Byrne to crack up and break character. But Byrne was tough to crack and his co-stars ended up spending all morning trying to make him laugh. On their break, director Bryan Singer reprimanded the five actors for failing at their task. Eventually, one of the takes where they couldn’t stay serious had to be used, and editor John Ottman used a combination of the takes they made and decided to showcase the humor.
In the scene where the crew meets Redfoot after a botched drug deal, he flicks his cigarette at McManus’ (Stephen’s) face. It turns out that the actor playing Redfoot was supposed to flick the cigarette at Stephen’s chest, but he missed and hit his face instead. This means that Stephen’s reaction was genuine.