Sir David Jason has revealed he was up for two lead roles in 2023 movies and ready to take on Hollywood – but was pipped to the post by two very famous British actors
Sir David Jason had his sights set on finally breaking Hollywood last year but missed out on landing a couple of major roles thanks to two British actors.
The Only Fools and Horses legend, best known for playing Del Boy Trotter on the beloved BBC comedy, had his hopes of a big movie career dashed at the age of 84 – and he’s pointing the blame firming at his fellow countrymen Jim Broadbent and Sir Michael Caine for his bad luck.
Despite being one of the most famous TV actors to hail from the UK, David has never made waves over in America. But the 84-year-old actor had been hoping to change that before he learned Jim and Oscar winner Sir Michael snatched away the lead roles he was up for in 2023.
The twist of fate with Jim is particularly stinging, given that the Moulin Rouge actor once passed on the chance to become Del Boy due to theatre work. Yet, Jim has expressed his relief that Sir David landed the role, saying to The Sun: “Luckily David Jason was available so my biggest contribution to British culture is not being available.”
Despite his television success, Sir David hasn’t quite mirrored that success in film. Speaking about never making a splash on the big screen, the Only Fools and Horses actor previously admitted: “I would love to be able to declare that my collected film work on DVD would make an elegant shelf of high-class cinematic experiences to browse among an evening. I fear, however, that it may look more like the contents of a box pulled out from under a table at a car boot sale”.
Sir David was in the running for the main parts in two 2023 flicks – The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry and The Great Escaper. He discovered Jim’s casting in the former through a newspaper article. And it was Sir Michael Caine who edged him out for the part of a Dunkirk veteran in The Great Escaper, a character who breaks out of his nursing home to attend a war memorial event.
In his new book “This Time Next Year,” which is available now, David – who recently suffered a health scare – reflects: “I thought it was going to be me escaping from the care home and going to look for my Dun-kirk chums. It’s the hope that kills you.”
Sir David is not only back in the spotlight thanks to his new book but also thanks to Only Fools and Horses being adapted for an upcoming stage production starring Vinnie Jones, who will play a crime boss as he treads the boards in Only Fools and Horses: The Musical.
The 59-year-old former footballer is known for his tough guy crime roles in Guy Ritchie films Snatch and Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, and will make his stage debut in the latest run of the musical. He will play one half of the notorious Driscoll brothers, Danny Driscoll, in the production, which was adapted from the TV series by actor and writer Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan, son of original series writer John Sullivan.
Vinnie said of his new role last month: “I’ve always been a fan of Only Fools And Horses, and when my longtime friend, (the promoter) Phil McIntyre called me up and said he was interested in me playing the role of Danny Driscoll, I told him to count me in. The director C Jay Ranger and her creative team are great and I’m excited to contribute to the legacy of the show.”
The cast also features Whitehouse as Grandad ‘Ted’ Trotter, Sam Lupton as Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter, Tom Major as Rodney Trotter, The Story Of Tracy Beaker actress Georgina Hagen as Rachel ‘Raquel’ Turner, Craig Berry as Terrance ‘Boycie’ Boyce, and Nicola Munns as Marlene / Cassandra, Lee VG as Colin ‘Trigger’ Ball, and Darryl Paul as Tony Driscoll / Mike Fisher, the Barman.
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