Eminem‘s “Stan” has become one of the most iconic songs and music videos of the 2000s — its title even inspired a popular term describing hardcore fans of artists that’s still commonly used today. But according to the Dr. Dre-directed visual’s star Devon Sawa, the rapper almost went in another direction when casting the project’s titular role.
“They went out to Macaulay Culkin first,” the Canadian actor told Entertainment Tonight in a Wednesday (April 17) interview. “I think that they wanted him, and he wasn’t available, or didn’t want to do it or whatever.”
“Then Dre, who had just seen Final Destination and was a fan, suggested [me],” Sawa added. “There happened to be somebody in the casting office that knew somebody who was friends with me, and they called me that way … and it ended up working out pretty good.”
Billboard has reached out Eminem and Culkin’s reps for comment.
In the eight-minute music video, Sawa plays the character of Stan, an obsessive Eminem fan who gets progressively angrier and more violent with his pregnant girlfriend (portrayed by Dido, who is also featured on the track) when the rapper doesn’t respond to his letters. After bleaching his hair and wearing a white tank top to embody the “Not Afraid” artist, he spirals to the point of driving his car off of a bridge with his girlfriend tied up in the trunk.
“It’s also one of the proudest things I’ve been a part of,” Sawa said of the project. “I’ll never forget, they told me on the day that I was going to lip-synch it. I remember, after the first take I did, Dre running in and being like, ‘It was good, but can you try it with some rhythm this time?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ And that was kind of how the day went.”
Watch Sawa and Dido star in the “Stan” music video below.
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