Billy Bob Thornton was almost in Misery but his character got the sledgehammer

Billy Bob Thornton and Kathy Bates first shared credits on 1998’s Primary Colors. But it almost started nearly a decade prior, as Thornton was given a role in 1990’s Misery. Sort of.

Thornton and Bates recently reunited, where he revealed to her that he almost landed a small role in Misery back in 1990 when he was still trying to make a name for himself. As it turns out, the idea was to have Sheriff Buster (played by Richard Farnsworth) have a deputy at his side. As Thornton tells it, though, it wouldn’t have amounted to much except some behind-the-scenes kickback. “Rob said right in the room, ‘You’re the guy. We can send everybody else home.’ I was very excited. And I got a call from Rob Reiner — not many directors would do this — he called me and he said, ‘Listen, I’ve been looking at the script and been planning out what I’m going to do with this movie.’ He said, ‘You can come up here and shoot this for the money or the insurance or whatever you need, but I’m just telling you, it’s not going to be in the movie.’” Rob Reiner then offered Billy Bob Thornton one final chance to “be” in Misery, which Thornton then turned down.

It wouldn’t take much longer after Misery was released in 1990 for Billy Bob Thornton to start making a name of his own, garnering much attention for co-writing and starring in 1992’s One False Move. He would keep building on this, soon enough winning an Oscar for writing Sling Blade, a movie he also starred in.

Kathy Bates had a steady career prior to Misery but once that hit theaters in an awards season-friendly November of 1990, her fate was sealed. As obsessive fan Annie Wilkes, Bates absolutely terrified viewers and critics. For the performance, she would earn both a Golden Globe and Academy Award; years later, Wilkes would be named one of the greatest movie villains ever.

Thirty-five years on, Misery remains one of the finest – and most faithful – Stephen King adaptations ever. Bates would return to the King realm later with 1995’s Dolores Claiborne and miniseries The Stand, although she went uncredited there.

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