Punch-Drunk Love, quite demonstrably, is my favorite Paul Thomas Anderson movie. This is in huge part because of the titanic, vulnerable, scary, and masterful leading performance from Adam Sandler, who weaponized and folded in his typical comedy persona and interests into something with teeth that bit to the core. And the Sandman almost didn't do it! First of all: Thank God he did. Second of all: Why was he this close to bailing?

Because he wasn't confident he could give Anderson what he needed. Sandler got into the entire process of making Punch-Drunk Love on the SmartLess podcast, explaining it began, like how most good things begin, with Tom Cruise. "I met Tom Cruise when Nicole Kidman did SNL," began Sandler. "Cruise had a Yankee cap dipped down low, and he looked up, and I was, like, in love with him. Tom called me up, and he says, ‘I’m doing a movie with my friend Paul, and he’s interested in doing a movie with you. Can I put him on the phone?'"

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Image via New Line Cinema

That Paul is, of course, Paul Thomas Anderson, and that movie is, of course, Magnolia, which gave Cruise a similarly persona-shattering role, and earned him an Oscar nomination to boot. Sandler... didn't know any of that. "Paul was very nice, and he says, ‘Hey, I loved Billy Madison.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, thanks,’ but I didn’t know who he was." Undeterred, Anderson asked Sandler, bluntly, "'Is it OK if I write you a movie?'"

Sandler, very kindly (he has a reputation for being kind!), took the part with this young filmmaker he didn't know. As Anderson started writing the script, Sandler took himself out to the movies one fateful day, where he saw, accidentally, the Cruise-starring Magnolia. And his perception... shifted.

"But then, honest to God, it was like 11 in the morning, and I had nothing to do, and Magnolia just came out, and I said, ‘I think this is that kid’s movie. I’m going to go see that.' It was sold out, and I was in the front row, and I was looking up at it, and I was fucking terrified, and I was going, ‘Oh this guy is fucking better than me. I don’t want to be in this. I’m going to ruin his movie! Holy shit!'"

Sandler wound up calling Anderson to beg him to choose someone else, and Anderson, very kindly (he has a reputation for being kind!), drove over to Sandler's house to talk him through the script and convince him he was right for the part. "I always said I could do this, but this was too much. But he talked me through it, and he made me comfortable," explained Sandler. Ultimately, Punch-Drunk Love made it to the screen, and frankly, Sandler's initially vulnerable discomfort is a huge part of what makes his performance so special! Good job, kind filmmakers! Make another film together soon, please!

For more on the Sandman, here's our review of Hubie Halloween, which we liked... a little less.