When Chris Klein didn’t appear as Oz in the third American Pie movie, American Wedding, many assumed that he didn’t want to continue in the franchise.
However, in an interview with The Huffington Post Klein reveals that it’s not that he didn’t want to star in the American Wedding, he wasn’t asked. But Oz is back in American Reunion, and he talks about returning to his most famous role and how he’s fared elsewhere in the movie industry.
When asked if he thought of turning down American Reunion out of spite after being left out of American Wedding, Klein indicates otherwise. He says, “Never. No, there’s none of that. Not with this franchise. That’s not who we are. That’s not how we got cast in these movies. These movies to me, personally, are incredibly special. As not only a willing participant in these movies, but also as an audience member. And I cherish my moments in the American Pie franchise and I’m really grateful that I get to be a part of it. Because back in 1998 when we made the first movie, we were all just hoping to get a summer job. And then American Pie did well and all of us were ushered into acting careers based on the success of the very first movie.”
But even though Klein didn’t turn down American Wedding, there have been roles he has had to turn down, but not many. When asked whether he has ever regretted turning down a role, he says, “I don’t know, man. I guess I’ve thought about that once in a while. Except that my career really hasn’t worked that way. In the movies that I’ve been a part of, I’ve kind of scratched and fought and kicked to be a part of. There’s a certain thought process about actors that they are in Hollywood and they sit around pools and get suntans and just get offered jobs… There are those one-percenters that get to make their own calls. For me, I’ve always been one that reads a script and has been ready, wiling and able to go out and fight for parts. And some of the parts that I haven’t gotten, when I see those movies, I always watch them and go, ‘Yeah, I can see why I didn’t get that.'”
As a result, Klein realizes that not every role comes down to who is the most talented. He says, “And it’s acting for the camera. And the truth is, as a human being, I bring what I bring. So if they need a blond and I happen to have brown hair, then that’s what they needed. Hey, maybe they needed blue eyes and I have brown eyes. I mean, we get that specific here in Hollywood. So I would be silly and incredibly naive to believe that this was simply a talent competition. Because it’s not.”
But of course, sometimes the auditions do come down talent, as one can see from the infamous audition Klein did for Mamma Mia, which appeared on YouTube. He later did a Funny or Die video to poke fun at himself. He explains, “So an audition that I had done years ago for Mamma Mia, somehow, was put on to the web. And it’s a horrible audition. And I took a chance — I can’t sing! I don’t know why I was in there. But I took a chance! It’s a musical — let’s see if I can give it a shot. And, you know, the way that they put it out there, it gets taken out of context and all that kind of thing. It was really a dreadful audition.”
