James Caan earned acclaim for playing Paul Sheldon in Misery, but it turns out that Jack Nicholson almost starred in the Stephen King adaptation. There are lots of film adaptations of King’s large body of work, but there are a select few that stand above the rest as the best of a sprawling field. One such movie is Misery, a 1990 adaptation of King’s 1987 book of the same name. The story focuses on Annie Wilkes, a crazed fan who rescues her favorite author after he suffers a car accident, only to become unhinged when she learns her favorite character is about to be killed off.
Wilkes is portrayed to terrific effect by Kathy Bates, who won an Oscar for her work, and has gone on to an incredibly distinguished career. Playing beleaguered author Paul Sheldon is James Caan, who was already an Oscar nominee by then himself. While Caan wasn’t recognized by the Academy for Misery, his work is just as essential to the greatness of the King-based film, directed by Rob Reiner.
Misery has become such an iconic film in pop culture lore that it’s probably impossible for most fans to imagine anyone but Caan in the Paul Sheldon role. However, another celebrated actor, Jack Nicholson, almost ended up hobbled onscreen by Annie Wilkes.
Why Jack Nicholson Didn’t Star in Stephen King’s Misery
Before James Caan was even offered the Paul Sheldon role in Misery, producers courted Jack Nicholson for the part, fresh off his iconic work as The Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman. Nicholson had of course already starred in a Stephen King movie at that point, going absolutely bonkers as Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Nicholson wasn’t the only heavyweight to turn down the part, as Robert Redford, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and more also said no. Nicholson might seem like an odd choice for Paul Sheldon, but many thought Caan to also be an odd choice, as he was best known for playing badass gangster Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, but that choice sure worked out.
Sadly, Nicholson declined the part, allegedly due to him having bad memories of making The Shining, which had an infamously brutal production. A perfectionist, Kubrick would demand 100 takes of a single scene at times, and while Nicholson has never spoken badly of the director, it’s not hard to imagine the process taking its toll on an actor. While Rob Reiner isn’t known for that same kind of on-set behavior, it’s possible Nicholson just associated trouble with Stephen King, and was afraid Misery‘s production would live up to its name.
