David Letterman, one of the most iconic late-night hosts, recently shared details about his failed audition for the role of Ted Striker in the 1980 comedy classic “Airplane!” Entertainment Weekly reported.
The revelation comes in an excerpt from the upcoming book, “Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True History of Airplane!” by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“I get out there, and they had set up a cockpit for the aircraft with chairs. I had a chair, and there was another chair where the copilot would be,” he said.
“We did the scene once, and then they came in and gave me some notes, and then we did it maybe two more times. And I kept saying all along, ‘I can’t act, I can’t act, I can’t act,’ and then one of them came to me after the audition and said, ‘You’re right: you can’t act!'” the famous TV personality recalled in the book, the outlet noted.
In 1979 David Letterman auditioned for the classic AIRPLANE!
After the audition Letterman said, I just want to warn you, I can’t act. The writers and directors responded, you’re right!
This was shown once on Letterman’s late night show, and is not on Blu-ray. pic.twitter.com/sXWiGZSOfH
— Hollywood Horror Museum (@horrormuseum) September 28, 2023
The role of Ted Striker in the movie eventually went to Robert Hays, and Letterman expressed his relief at not being cast, saying that him appearing in the movie “would’ve ruined it,” Entertainment Weekly reported. (RELATED: Superstar Actress Describes Feeling Like ‘Meat’ In Audition Process For Epic Film)
“When I saw the movie, it was just delightful, and I was delighted to see it knowing that I didn’t have to look at myself,” he stated, the outlet noted.
“They were really nice to consider me for a film,” he added.