In 2006, Dave Chapelle was called “America’s comic genius” by Esquireand was ranked ninth in “Best Stand Up Comedians of All Time” by rolling stone in 2017. Unsurprisingly, he has received five Primetime Emmys out of 12 nominations and is currently in the process of release four new Netflix stand-up specials as part of a multi-million dollar deal.
However, what many may not know is that the famous comedian he wasn’t always a stand-up comedian. In fact, during his early years as an actor, he was even offered a role in the iconic “Forrest Gump“However, although he would have ended up starring alongside Tom Hanks one of the biggest movies of the decade, he ended up turning down the role, resulting in an ironic twist of fate that was sure to make for great comedic material.
Dave Chappelle almost played Bubba in Forrest Gump
According to E!, the role of Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue in the classic movie Robert Zemeckis from 1994 “Forrest Gump” wasn’t always going to be played by Mykelti Williamson.
Apparently, the role was initially offered to actors David Alan Grier and Dave Chappelleas well as the rapper Ice Cube. However, all three declined. chappellein particular, did so because he worried that the movie would be a flop.
As expected, has expressed remorse for his decision, which is partly what led to the emergence of chappelle in the 1998 hit “You’ve Got Mail.”
According to IMDb, the star of “Forrest Gump“, Tom Hankswas aware of the disappointment of chappelle for not appearing in the iconic movie when he had the chance, so hanks tried to compensate chappelle promising to work with him in the future.
Four years later, after being offered the lead role in “You’ve Got Mail,” he suggested to the director nora ephron that they offer to chappelle paper of his character’s best friend, Kevin. ephron agreed and chappelle he was more than happy to accept.
Dave Chappelle later made a movie parodying Forrest Gump
Although he never got to star “Forrest Gump” Dave Chappelle he ended up making his own version of the film, albeit a parodic one. In 1997, she released “Bowl of Pork”, a comedy short film in which she played “Black Forest Gump”a goofy black version of the character from hanks who accidentally becomes responsible for the 1991 beating of Rodney King, the los angeles riots and the evidence implicating OJ Simpson in murder.
In the short, chappelle parodies the classic “box of chocolates” line from gump like “Mom always told me life was like a bowl of gum. They save the worst parts for black people.” In the end, he is beaten by the elderly couple sitting next to him.
According to IMDb, the short film was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewooda black director who ended up directing other hits like “Love & Basketball” in 2000, “Beyond the Lights” in 2014, and most recently the historical epic “The Woman King,” which was released in late 2022.