Kevin James says Simon Pegg was supposed to play his neo-nazi role in Becky

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

One of the latest films to play the drive-in and VOD circuit has been BECKY, a sort of twisted DIE HARD meets HOME ALONE meets I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE hybrid that is far more entertaining than it has any right to be. The highlight of the film is watching Kevin James, known for his comedic turns in PAUL BLART: MALL COP, GROWN UPS, and The King of Queens play against type as the violent Neo-Nazi villain of the film. It's a decidedly more dramatic turn for the actor and he handles it with great ease but James wasn't the first choice for the role. 

Kevin James explained to "Newsday" that originally, he was going to play the role of the father who is held hostage by the Neo-Nazi, a role that eventually went to Joel McHale, and that Simon Pegg was set to play the villain role that James would eventually happen upon. Scheduling conflicts forced Pegg out of the project and James then had the idea of taking on the villain role as a change of pace:

"I feel like I relate to a lot of people as the common guy. But when you do that a lot, what happens is half of your audience wants to see more of that and the other half is like 'I've seen that. Let's see him do something different.' I got this script and it was so out of left field. Originally, I was going to play the father of the daughter and Simon Pegg was going to play the villain. Then Simon had a scheduling conflict. So they had to recast the part. We came up with the idea, what if I do that part? I just went for it."

Simon Pegg would've been a great choice for this role as well but a part of me would've expected that kind of turn from him. Kevin James came as a complete surprise for me and he's 100% committed to making the role absolutely menacing in his approach. In the film, a teenager's weekend at a lake house with her father takes a turn for the worse when a group of convicts wreaks havoc on their lives. Lulu Wilson steals the show as the young Becky whose bloodlust becomes the cornerstone of the film but James really is a revelation as the villainous Dominick.

Have YOU checked out BECKY yet? The film is currently playing at drive-ins and is available on VOD.