He was entitled to some “changes.”
Actor David Spade revealed to podcast listeners on Wednesday that he once refused to switch roles with the late David Bowie during the legendary entertainer’s appearance on a 1991 episode of “Saturday Night Live.”
The 59-year-old comedian recalled the interaction during his “Fly on the Wall” podcast alongside co-host Dana Carvey.
According to “The Benchwarmers” actor the skit was supposed to feature himself playing a receptionist who “stops you because he thinks they’re better than you” while the “Labyrinth” star would play himself.
Spade claimed that he had walked into work the next morning after pitching the segment only to find a note telling him to call the singer “as soon as possible.”
“And so I called him and he answers and it’s f- -king Bowie,” said Spade. “And he’s like, ‘This [sketch] is so f- – -ing funny. This is exactly my life and these people I see.’ And he goes, ‘One tweak: Can I play the receptionist? That’s the funnier part.’”
According to the “Joe Dirt” actor, the pair bickered back and forth with Spade refusing to give up his role.
Bowie attempted to point out that playing himself was boring and that “everyone’s seen that.”
Spade, who claimed he wanted to make the receptionist role a reoccurring character, adamantly said no despite the fact that Bowie pointed out that the sketch might not even make it on the show.
“I’m like, ‘God, how do you know this show this well?’” recalled Spade. “It’s so true. What if it doesn’t get on? I’m f- – -ing blowing it. He’s like, ‘It’ll get on if I do it.’”
Despite the bickering, Spade always maintained that Bowie was “not rude.”
As it so happened, the skit never saw the bright lights of studio 8H.
“The rest of the week I wasn’t in the show and I was like, ‘f- -k,’” he recalled.
Spade said that he managed to shelve his pride and apologized to the late rock star during the episode’s final minutes.
“Hey, sorry, man, I get what was going on and I shouldn’t have been a little chilly about it,” the “Grown Ups” star recalls telling Bowie.
In a strange twist of fate, Spade’s sassy receptionist managed to debut in the following episode and was a reoccurring character for two more episodes.
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