Rob Schneider trades in his SNL-style comedy cred for mob drama in Dead Wrong, written and directed by Rick Bieber. Based on K.E. Clark’s novel Deadly Instinct, Dead Wrong sees Schneider play a lawyer with a gambling addiction who finds himself mixed up in a life of crime thanks to his many misdeeds. The movie also stars Derek Smith, Chet Hanks, 30 Rock‘s Katrina Bowden, and Black Lightning‘s Cress Williams.

Smith plays Billy Evans, whose jealousy over his best friend Jacko Stern’s (Hanks) mob boss life leads him to try to kidnap his infant son for the insurance money. As Ethan Boggs, Schneider unlocks his more dramatic acting chops and has the audience rooting for his unexpectedly charming crook of a character. The indie movie is now out on VOD, and it unveils a surprising side to Schneider that may allow his career to take a different path in the future.

Screen Rant interviewed Schneider about how he approached his character in Dead Wrong, the advice he’s learned from other great actors such as Tim Curry and Wilford Brimley, and what to expect from his next project with Adam Sandler.

Rob Schneider’s Dead Wrong Character “Still Has Hope” Despite His Desperation

Screen Rant: I love true-crime stories, and I feel like this is pulled right out of the pages of Dateline. It takes a lot of twists and turns. What initially drew you to the character of Ethan Boggs in Dead Wrong?

Rob Schneider: Well, thank you. I travel a lot, and I find myself watching those late-night mysteries where these people are just horrible people doing horrible things. You’re like, “If you’re not happy, get divorced. If you need the money, get a job, or just move into an apartment. But don’t kill somebody. Don’t do something so absolutely horrible.”

There’s a really interesting book called The Sociopath Next Door. After reading that, and then being on the road and watching Forensic Files, I got a script that seemed like it was right out of that NBC Show, Greed. And so I said, “Yeah, I think this is going to be fun,” because it’s almost a comedy if it didn’t have so much gore and stuff. I liked it, and I hope it holds up in the movie.

You’re completely right. It does feel like there are comedic elements to it, but what happens with these criminals is just so mind-boggling. You play the attorney. Tell us a little bit about Ethan Boggs.

Rob Schneider: Ethan Boggs is a dirty attorney who thinks he’s just going to be dirty temporarily. but once you dip your toe into dirt, you don’t get it back clean, and this is that character. Once you go down the bad road, it’s hard to come back. He gets trapped, and now he can’t get out, but there’s always that hope that he can get back to being a good attorney.

That’s how he sees himself, but things didn’t work out for him. He’s got a gambling problem., he needs money, and he’s a mess. But he still has hope. No matter how you play a character, there’s always got to be hope. There’s always got to be some goodness you’ve got to find, even in a terrible guy like him in a desperate situation. So I said, “Okay, here we go. I’m going to throw myself in it.”

There’s such an interesting relationship between Ethan Boggs and Rollie Barnes, who is a mob guy here who holds a lot over Ethan. Talk to me about their relationship throughout the course of this film.

Rob Schneider: Basically, he’s got me wrapped in because I owe him money for gambling. Boggs, my character, is doing too good a job covering up for all this real estate fraud that he’s doing, so he won’t let him out. Rollie won’t let him go because he is doing too good a job, so the only way to get out is to find a permanent way to get out. Either alive or dead, he’s going to get out.

You bring this energy to Ethan Boggs that’s likable and very charming. What did you want to bring to the role that wasn’t on the page?

Rob Schneider: I never play a guy who doesn’t think he’s a good guy. I mean, you can root for somebody, even they’re a bad guy. Even Don Corleone didn’t think he was a murderer. He’s a guy who kills people, but he doesn’t think he’s a bad guy. It’s a different set of morality in these people. But he’s striving; he’s striving to get out, he’s striving to get past this, and he just can’t.

I did a movie called Big Stan, and a lot of the people who worked on it were felons. All of them had an excuse. They all said, “No, no, no, no. I just got…” It’s always something. So, I wanted to play a guy who’s going to make the best out of the worst situation.

From Deuce Bigalow To Dead Wrong, Rob Schneider Approaches Acting In A Very Specific Way

You’ve transitioned seamlessly between comedy and more serious roles. How do you approach these different genres?

Rob Schneider: I think it’s the same, to be honest with you. It’s really important, though, to specifically go for the thing as an actor. The most interesting time is the beginning of relationships and the end of relationships. Shakespeare wrote about Romeo and Juliet at 15 or 16, so that’s exciting. Ingmar Bergman, the great Swedish director, shows relationships as they’re breaking up.

But nobody wants to see a movie about somebody four years into a relationship where everything’s smooth; that’s boring. They’re all watching Netflix and looking at their phone. You want to have the most desperate situation, and then that’s watchable because it’s hopefully not happening in your life. I felt like this was a desperate guy in a desperate situation trying to figure his way out, and that’s fun enough for me.

Did you get a chance to read the book, Deadly Instinct, that the film is based on? And if so, are there any key differences between the book’s portrayal of Ethan Boggs and the film adaption?

Rob Schneider: I really, really worry about going to a source outside of the director and what he wants to show me, because then there could be other stuff. I want to be able to do my own interpretation of it within what he’s trying to get at. I think it’s important as an actor to fit in; not necessarily to be an exact peg in the right hole, but to have your interpretation of it, and then do a little bit.

No, I didn’t read the whole book. I think I got a little glimpse, and then I thought, “You know what? It is different.” And you can’t ever have a movie just like the book, because you can’t show, “And then he starts thinking about this…” But I wanted to play the fact that he’s a really good attorney. He’s just in the dirtiest game because he’s stuck, and he’s trying to do this to get out, but he never gets out. It happens.

There’s this fantastic scene that really displays Ethan Boggs being this excellent attorney, and that’s in front of the hospital board when they’re trying to figure out how much the settlement’s going to be. Can you walk me through your preparation for that day and the speech you give to them?

Rob Schneider: Wilford Brimley, who was a great actor and a friend of mine, once said, “Off-screen, you can give them anything.” In other words, you can do anything to get a reaction, to get them to do this or something. So, when I walked into that room, I just started yelling expletives and Rick Bieber, the director, said, “No, no. Do that. I like that.” I said, “Really? I thought it was a bit much,” but he said, “Just go for it completely.”

It was a good script, but I wanted to play within that. That scene was a lot of ad-libbing because I wanted to work within what I was trying to get and build something. That one was fun to create, and I wanted to give everybody something to know that they better work something out with me. Sometimes you have to bluff with all your weapons, and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. So, for that one, he went all out.

I thought it was too much when I was doing it, but I thought, “Let the director decide.” I do a lot of projects that I write myself, but when you jump into something, you have to let the director decide. Tim Curry is this great actor that I worked with in Home Alone 2, and I learned a lot from him just by watching.

When I was a young actor, I thought, “You try to do it one way the best as you can over and over again.” And then I saw Tim Curry do a scene seven different ways, and they were all good. He just said, “No, it’s not my movie. I just do what I can, and let the director choose what he wants. I give him options. That’s what I do. It’s my job.” And I was like, “Holy s–t.” So, you learn from the greats.

Speaking of Rick Bieber, he wrote, directed, and produced this film. Can you talk about working with him as a collaborator?

Rob Schneider: Rick was wonderful. The real job of the director, besides doing prep, is hiring the right people. He called me because I was a little hesitant about playing this dirty attorney in this really bloody movie, and he told me, “You’ll be good, and I’ll protect you. I can see you as this character.” And he let me play.

There are some directors that are just on top of you about stuff, and that could be okay. Even in comedy, Adam Sandler is very specific about what he wants; really specific. And I’ve worked with him enough – in 27 movies – to be ready for it and to just throw everything out and start over if it’s not working. But for Rick, it was like, “Keep your life between here and here, and we’ll get it. Let’s do another one, and see what happens.” And I like that.

Rob Schneider Teases Leo 2 & The Animal Reboot Possibilities

Speaking of Adam Sandler, my little girl loves Leo. What can you tell me about Leo 2?

Rob Schneider: Leo 2 is happening. It’s going to be older kids, and it’s going to be more stuff about what older kids go through. And it’s going to be the same turtle. That’s a lovely movie. Adam Sandler was saying, “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.” Leo is perfection, and you can do more in an animated film than you ever could in a dramatic film. I’m really proud of him; it’s pretty incredible.

Man, you’re a legend. We live in a world of reboots and remakes. Are there any previous projects that you’ve been a part of that you’d like to see get the reboot treatment?

Rob Schneider: Yeah, there is a chance. I said no already, but there’s a chance that The Animal will go again, and I’m going to do it as an old dog falling apart. That’s a real chance that we’re going to find out. I said, “No, I don’t want to do it. I don’t want…” For the last five years. I said, “No.” Then I said, “You know what? Adam Sandler just agreed to do Happy Gilmore 2, so maybe I will do that one again.”

But no more Deuce Bigalows, I’m keeping my shirt and my pants on.

How do you choose your projects? What elements of the script or character really grab your attention?

Rob Schneider: Well, I don’t get offered a ton of amazing stuff, so when I do get offered something that I think has potential? I do it. Then there’s some stuff where there’s not a lot there, like in The Wrong Missy, but I get to just play. It’s true, the old adage. It’s very hackneyed to say, “There’s no such thing as small roles, just small actors.” But it’s true, you can make something out of it. And it’s just what you try to do with it.

I’m really looking forward to doing some more interesting stuff that’s come, and we’ll see what happens. There’s a movie called The Shroud of Turin, which is an incredible story about the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. We’ll see if that comes together. It’s just a very expensive movie. Orson Welles, the greatest director America ever produced, who did Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons, once said, “I’ve fallen in love with an expensive canvas.”

I love that. Are there any types of genres that you haven’t explored yet that you’d really like to get a chance to in the future?

Rob Schneider: Well, it’s funny you mentioned it. I’ve never thought I would do a horror film, but that’s the film I’m writing right now. I said, “Let me just try it.” That’s the one I’m doing for Blumhouse.

Let’s see if it works out. I’m not an expert in this, but I said okay. I spent a long time after they asked me, and they said, “Okay. We like that idea.” Let’s see if it comes to fruition, but I’m going to try it.