Adam Sandler is in control -- really
The clout of a child-man
Monday, April 14, 2003 Posted: 1:07 PM EDT (1707 GMT)
Adam Sandler accepts a Kids' Choice Award for best movie actor. Many adult movie critics would disagree.
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LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Adam Sandler, who's become one of Hollywood's top box-office draws by playing infantile men prone to fisticuffs and tantrums, displays in real life a shambling politeness and faux-naive modesty.
With a shy smile, he often looks down as he speaks, while deflecting questions with self-deprecating jokes.
The 36-year-old comic's almost childlike behavior conceals his status as a Hollywood workaholic who's unwaveringly loyal to his friends.
"I was in his office 12 hours a day, and he was either working with me, or working on editing something else, or working on one of his other projects," said David Dorfman, screenwriter of "Anger Management," which co-stars Sandler and Jack Nicholson. "He worked nonstop."
Sandler has used his clout not only to gain greater control over his own films, but also to boost the careers of former "Saturday Night Live" friends such as Rob Schneider, David Spade and Dana Carvey by guiding their pet projects through the studio system.
Dorfman described Sandler as "a benevolent mogul," and Carvey said his 2002 film, "The Master of Disguise," would have gone nowhere without Sandler's help.