Adam Sandler might be one of the most divisive actors in modern movies. When Sandler first broke big, you either loved his childish gibberish and outbursts on Billy Madison or just wished he had disappeared sometime before Opera Man was ever born. Now, you either want him to continue delivering Oscar-caliber work* or just stick with Hubie Halloween-level fare.
In a new interview with AARP (damn, how old is the Sandman? 56? Way to go, Billy!), Adam Sandler discussed how he deals with critics, especially when it comes to his harshest ones, saying, “I don’t get too shook up.”
In fact, Adam Sandler goes back to a little wisdom his old man gave him. “He said, ‘Adam, you can’t always be happy. People aren’t always going to like you. You’re going to fail.’ I said, ‘But I just want to be happy, man. I don’t want all that other crap.’ He said, ‘You won’t actually know you’re happy if you don’t feel that other stuff.’”
Those are certainly useful words from his late father, Stanley, from the Happy Madison Productions intro. So go ahead and try to bash Adam Sandler for getting paid millions of dollars to make movies with his friends. But he’s going to keep a positive outlook on his cinematic output.
Later in the interview, Adam Sandler reflected on how he might like to be remembered. “I want people to continue to enjoy what I’m doing. I hope they’ve had a good time with my movies, with what we’ve given them and, whether you’ve liked me or not, appreciate that I’ve tried my best.”
*If we don’t campaign for a Hustle nod, will we have to suffer through Hubie Halloween 2? We have a choice to make, people!
What do you think of Adam Sandler’s perspective on critics? Do you prefer dramatic or comedic Sandler? Let us know in the comments below!