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Actor Devon Sawa has shared his true feelings about his role in the 1995 blockbuster Casper, starring Christina Ricci.
The 48-year-old star, who has a link to rapper Eminem, appeared as the human version of the friendly ghost in the film when he was 16, and the part has followed him for years, winning him fans all over the world.
Now, 31 years after the feature came out, Sawa has admitted he didn't always like being attached to the character, and his famous 'Can I keep you?' line.
'There was a time in my life I was like, "I don’t wanna talk about Casper. How dare you? I’m a thespian," you know?' he told People this week.
However, he has since come to 'embrace' his association with the ghost, sharing, 'But… I gotta embrace it. It’s why I’m here. It’s what got me here.'
He resolved, 'Doesn’t matter what I do nowadays. It doesn’t matter how cool the project is, I will always have to say, "Can I keep you?" to somebody at some point. There will always be Casper stuff.'
Actor Devon Sawa has shared his true feelings about his role in the 1995 blockbuster Casper, starring Christina Ricci; pictured September 3
'There was a time in my life I was like, "I don’t wanna talk about Casper. How dare you? I’m a thespian," you know?' he told People this week
Casper follows Kat Harvey (Ricci) as she moves into a haunted mansion with her dad (Bill Pullman) and becomes friends with the titular ghost.
Sawa eventually emerges as Casper in human form.
The movie, directed by Brad Silberling, was hugely successful and earned about $291 million worldwide.
Other projects Sawa worked on in the 90s include Little Giants and Now and Then.
In 2000, he starred in Eminem's somber Stan music video, which became a cultural phenomenon.
Stan is an Eminem super-fan whose obsession with the rap star leads to disaster for him and his pregnant girlfriend, played by Dido, whose 1998 song Thank You is sampled in the song.
Last August, Sawa spoke exclusively to the Daily Mail about the experience of working on Stan with Eminem, born Marshall Mathers.
'He was there [on set]. He did the scene where he comes out in the cold. He does the [meet and greet at the] table and then his bus stop [writing the letter] was separately, so we didn't have a lot together,' the former child star recalled.
The 47-year-old star also starred with Ricci in Now and Then, pictured
Sawa later starred in Eminem's Stan music video (pictured) in 2000
He played an Eminem super-fan whose obsession with the rap star leads to disaster for both himself and his pregnant girlfriend
'But I remember him being focused and just there to work. He was there to work – that's what I remember,' he added.
Sawa previously revealed that the role of Stan was initially offered to Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin, who turned it down.
'They went out to Macaulay Culkin first. I think that they wanted him, and he wasn't available, or didn't want to do it or whatever,' he told Entertainment Tonight in 2024.
Dr Dre then 'suggested' Sawa for the role because of his admiration for the 2000 movie Final Destination, which starred him as the lead.
Last month, Sawa appeared at a SAG-AFTRA event to promote his next film The Girl in the River, led by Tiffany Haddish and The Karate Kid star Ralph Macchio.
He joined co-star Sara Murphree and the writer/director Brando Benetton for a panel discussion moderated by critic Stacy Yvonne.
Sawa has been married to producer Dawni Sahanovitch since 2013, and they share Hudson, 12, and Scarlett, 10.
English (US) ·