The Inglourious Basterds star made extra money filling in for big names in between takes – but when Brest caught Roth awkwardly walking across the set of Brad Pitt’s Meet Joe Black, he immediately fired the budding actor/filmmaker.
Roth insists he was simply following instructions.
He explains, “Production people, they said, ‘He’s a little bit shorter than the actor.’ So they’re like, ‘Can you make yourself taller?’ It was a walking shot so they’re like, ‘Can you walk?’ So I did this like this Velociraptor (bouncing walk).
“And the director, Martin Brest, literally walked by, did a double take, and says to the assistant director, ‘That kid is one untalented stand-in, fire him.'”
But Roth insists he has had the last laugh – because Brest’s last directorial effort, 2003 crime comedy Gigli, bombed at the box office, despite boasting stars Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.
He laughs, “It’s kind of like being an untalented piece of furniture. So I was fired… I hold no grudge because he made Gigli and that’s really the greatest revenge.”
