Tommy Boy Director's Favorite Chris Farley Memory Involves A Classic Movie Star Impression And Some Car Chaos [Exclusive]

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the 1995 comedy classic "Tommy Boy," and while a handful of moments in it don't hold up to modern comedy sensibilities, the film is still largely a hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt story about a lovable loser tasked with saving his family's small-town auto parts company. Though Chris Farley had appeared in a handful of movies already, "Tommy Boy" was the first starring role for the "Saturday Night Live" superstar on the big screen, and despite the intense pressure of their schedules, he and fellow "SNL" star David Spade carry the film on their shoulders as their characters trade insults and ultimately go from annoyed acquaintances to genuine friends over the course of the story.

Since "Tommy Boy" was his first big movie, Farley wasn't prepared for the level of mental stamina required to lead a feature film. In a new interview pegged to the release of the movie's new 4K home video release, director Peter Segal told /Film about how the famous "fat guy in a little coat" moment came about because Farley was bored on set when he had to film the scene multiple times from multiple angles, including moments when he wasn't even on camera. But that wasn't the only instance where Farley's boredom led to something hilarious.

Farley tragically died at the much-too-young age of 33, cutting short a career that "Tommy Boy" co-star Brian Dennehy anticipated would stretch far beyond the world of comedy. But while he was alive, the comedy legend brought joy to millions of people — including Peter Segal. When asked to share one of his favorite memories of Farley that didn't make it into the movie, Segal responded:

"In the beginning of the story, [Farley's character is] running to class because he's late, and there was one moment that ended up getting cut where he was running through a parking lot and banging into cars and setting off all the car alarms. But he stopped and did this look that was exactly John Belushi from 'Animal House' during the parade before he swings across the street. I said to him, I said, 'Chris, what are you doing? You're doing Belushi.' And he goes, 'I know, I'm bored of playing Tommy every day!' [laughs] I was like, 'Dude, it's a movie! You have to play Tommy every day. You can't just change!'"

The actor must have gotten over that boredom relatively quickly or been able to hide it extremely well, because it never once comes across in the final film. Chris Farley delivered a performance that is physical and hilariously over the top, but also grounded and human and sweet and kind. There are glimpses of the depth Dennehy saw in his co-star, and while I'm glad Farley's work lives on and continues to make us laugh, I still mourn the movies and performances from him we never got to see.

I spoke about watching the new 4K version of "Tommy Boy" on today's episode of the /Film Daily podcast, which also contains our full interview with director Peter Segal as well as one with co-star Bo Derek. Check it out below:

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