‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’: Surprising Sitcom Star Almost Played the Lead
What To Know
- Author Jason Klamm’s upcoming book reveals that Jon Cryer was initially pitched by John Hughes to play Ferris Bueller in the iconic 1986 film.
- Cryer was unaware he was considered for the lead role, believing he was only in the running for the part of Ferris’s best friend, Cameron, and expressed surprise at the revelation.
- Anthony Michael Hall, another prominent “Brat Pack” actor, was also considered for the role of Ferris Bueller before Matthew Broderick was ultimately cast.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a classic teen comedy starring Matthew Broderick in the lead role — but a surprising sitcom star almost played Bueller instead.
In his upcoming book, Ferris Bueller…You’re My Hero: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Day Off, author Jason Klamm made an unexpected revelation about the 1986 film. An excerpt from the book (which will be released in June) detailed that Ferris Bueller writer and director John Hughes initially pitched Two and a Half Men star Jon Cryer as Bueller when speaking with Paramount executives.
Klamm spoke with Cryer about missing out on the role. Evidently, the Pretty in Pink actor had no idea that he was considered for the lead in Ferris Bueller. When asked if his reps told him about the part, Cryer acknowledged that he was in the running for the role of the main character’s best friend.
Klamm wrote of his conversation with Cryer, per Entertainment Weekly:
“Yes, for the Alan Ruck character,” he says, then explaining why he likely wasn’t cast as Cameron. “I mean, I’m just too similar to Matthew.” As for being under consideration to play Ferris: “I have not heard that, but I trust Lindsay Doran [former Vice President of Production at Paramount]…yeah, that’s news to me.”
[John] Hughes came to the Pretty in Pink set enough while it and Ferris crossed over that Cryer (a fan of Hughes back to his Lampoon days) did feel like he was missing out. “Ferris Bueller sounded a little more antically comedic than Pretty in Pink was,” Cryer tells me. “It sounded like he was going to have a great time, and I was like, ‘Oh, that would have been a fun project to do with him’…I recall being a little jealous at the time.”
Additionally, “Brat Pack” member Anthony Michael Hall was considered for the part of Bueller, too.
Can you imagine either Cryer or Hall starring in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?
Ferris Bueller…You’re My Hero: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Day Off will be released on June 16.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, streaming on Paramount+ and Pluto TV
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