Adam Sandler is one of Hollywood’s most adored movie stars, thanks to his appeal as an everyday guy. Nevertheless, he doesn’t always portray a charming goofball that the audience can cheer for. The Sandman (Adam Sandler’s nickname) frequently depicts characters with major anger issues who routinely tell lies or are immature and have developmental pauses.
Some of Adam Sandler’s characters are more likable than others, such as the manipulative Dr. Danny Maccabee and the self-serving disgraced quarterback Paul “Wrecking” Crewe. Examples of these characters include the hopeless romantic Robbie Hart and the unshakable do-gooder Longfellow Deeds.
Adam Sandler’s Most Iconic Characters:
9. Danny Maccabee
- The movie name: Just Go with It
- Year: 2011
- Character name: Dr Danny Maccabee
- Streaming platform: Netflix
About Dr Danny Maccabee from Just Go with It:
Dr. Danny Maccabee, a plastic surgeon, lies to women in the romantic comedy Just Go with It so he may have sex without committing. He pretends to be in a terrible marriage and wears a wedding band so that ladies will feel bad for him and have sex with him.
When a woman he genuinely likes discovers his false ring, Danny continues to lie. To pose as his family, he enlists the help of his assistant and her children. Great lengths he will go to trick ladies.
In an exclusive interview with screen slam, Adam Sandler was asked about a lie that he told and then snowballed, to which Sandler replied,
“My kid is four. She said, ‘I have a brother who lives in China.’ When I asked him am I the father, she said no, no!’ He is from another father.’
Talking about how he and Jennifer Aniston enjoyed behind the scenes, Sandler revealed one of the incidents and said,
“I would be right about to going, and then they grabbed me and said you’re not welcome at this pool with your children and she would hold up this extra that she had to make up give her an extra-long middle finger”
And he just laughed it out. He told how he got three guys with whom he would have fun after the shoots.
8. Happy Gilmore
- Movie Name: Happy Gilmore
- Year: 1996
- Character Name: Happy Gilmore
- Streaming service: Netflix
About Happy from Happy Gilmore:
Happy Gilmore, played by Adam Sandler, wants to be a professional hockey player but isn’t very good at the sport. The movie “Happy Gilmore” is a part of the early Adam Sandler canon and undoubtedly one of his most notable roles. Happy, however, struggles with controlling his rage, and one of the few outlets for him is hockey.
That is, until he unintentionally finds golf and his natural talent for it. The current champion Shooter McGavin becomes Happy’s new foe due to his uncontrollable, continual wrath that allows him to drive the ball and garners media attention.
When talking about the stunts in the film, Sandler said,” I did all stunts by myself.” By the stunts here, he meant all the jumps and playing golf on his own. Isn’t it just Adam Sandler’s style?
You can watch the full interview here:
7. Max Simkin
- Movie Name: The Cobbler
- Year: 2014
- Character Name: Max Simkin
- Streaming Service: Amazon Prime Video
About Max Simkin from The Cobbler:
In the comedy The Cobbler, Sandler plays a down-on-his-luck shoemaker who discovers a mysterious sewing machine that allows him to transform into his clients whenever he puts on their shoes. This concept is just the beginning of a surreal story that also features hitmen, real estate schemes, and Steve Buscemi giving pickles to Adam Sandler‘s character.
When asked about why he said yes to this role, Sandler said,
“It was an exciting script, compelling character. It seemed connected to the cousins I had and friends I have had in the past. I moved when I was a kid. My family is in Brooklyn, and there was something very authentic to the Brooklyn Jew of it all in this movie”.
6. John Clasky
- Movie Name: Spanglish
- Year: 2004
- Character Name: John Clasky
- Streaming Platform: Netflix
About John Clasky from Spanglish:
Paz Vega plays Flor in the film Spanglish. Flor is a single mother from Mexico who immigrated to the United States and took a job cleaning houses for affluent Americans. The father is played by Sandler, a celebrated chef who develops a bond with Flor while his neurotic wife (Tea Leoni) grows more and more aloof.
The movie, which has a romantic comedy plot, instead focuses on parenting and cultural differences, particularly Flor’s struggle to raise her daughter and instill cultural values. At the same time, Sandler’s wife, who appears to be going through a midlife crisis, continues to cross boundaries while “parenting” Flor’s daughter.
One of the few highlights was Sandler‘s performance. He had good chemistry with Paz Verga and made a good impression as both a loving parent and a cynical spouse.
At the movie premiere, Sandler said,
“It is a painful movie to watch at times. My character goes through a lot of ups and downs. I enjoy being that guy. I always worked as hard as I could, but this was a different experience because Jim Brooks is a genius, and I didn’t want to let him down. It was a lot of concentrating for a man with not that big of a brain. I don’t know if I can be the best. I have seen great, patient fathers out there, and I am not that patient. I know I will have fun hanging out with kids and feeling superior with my knowledge.”
5. Billy Madison
- Movie name: Billy Madison
- Year: 1995
- Character name: Billy Madison
- Streaming platform: Amazon Prime Video
About Billy from Billy Madison:
Billy Madison‘s main character is a spoiled rich child, Billy played by Adam Sandler. He is the heir to a Fortune 500 company and leads a ridiculously opulent existence, but he has never worked a day.
Billy was made to return to school at 27 to demonstrate that he could manage his father’s business. Until then, he had not even completed his grade 1–12 education, the only legally required task for people.
In an interview, Sandler talked about the dodgeball scene and said,
“I hit some kid pretty hard, and he gets upset and starts crying, and then parents come up to me and say, ‘what’s the deal?’ I said no, that is a scene. I am supposed to act like big guys went back to school and plugged all these kids. It’s all part of the joke.”
4. Burt Reynold
- Movie name: The Longest Yard
- Year: 2005
- Character name: Burt Reynold
- Streaming platform: Prime Video
About Burt Reynold from The Longest Yard:
In the remake of The Longest Yard, Sandler played Burt Reynolds’ part. Paul “Wrecking” Crewe, a disgraced former NFL star, believes that he is the center of the universe. After being politely asked to leave a party at the movie’s opening, Paul steals his girlfriend’s car, wrecks it, and leads the police on a pursuit.
The character gains a little bit more appeal while incarcerated when he forms a football team with his other prisoners and begins acting selflessly for the benefit of the group.
In the show Unscripted with Chris Rock, Sandler talked about different scenes and experiences in the movie and said that Dustin from Grimes Lowa was the funniest one.
You can watch the whole talk here:
3. Bobby Boucher
- Movie name: The Waterboy
- Year: 1998
- Character name: Bobby Boucher
- Streaming platform: Disney+
About Bobby Boucher from The Waterboy:
Sandler is well-known for his humorous persona as well as for his high-concept comedies. One example of this is the movie “The Waterboy,” which centers on Bobby Boucher, a collegiate football team water boy who resides with his overbearing and disapproving mother (Kathy Bates).
While the teammates make fun of Bobby for his loud Cajun accent and genuine love of water, things take a turn for the better when Bobby unexpectedly demonstrates his ability for tackling during practice and is elevated from waterboy to teammate.
Bobby slowly develops his independence and discovers a new side to himself, obtaining both an education and a girlfriend, despite his mother’s disapproval of football.
2. Michael
- Movie name: Click
- Year: 2016
- Character name: Michael
- Streaming Platform: Vudu
About Michael from Click:
Sandler plays Michael, a stressed-out parent who discovers a mysterious global remote that has the power to control his life. A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life served as inspiration for this hilarious and unexpectedly moving comedy. In it, Sandler portrays Michael in a variety of roles, from his typical everyman persona to an obese slob.
Michael’s bond with Henry Winkler, who plays his father, is one of Click’s most compelling elements. In an especially moving sequence with Winkler, where he revisits their final meeting before his passing, Sandler is at his best.
Discussing the idea behind the concept of the movie, Sandler says,
“My children want to go with me, my wife wants to go with me even though there is not enough of me to go around. Though deep down inside I am a great man.” In an interview with ArtisanNewsService, he talks about the remote-control concept of the movie.
1. Nick Spitz
- Movie name: Murder Mystery
- Year: 2019
- Character name: Nick Spitz
- Streaming Platform: Netflix
About Nick Spitz from Murder Mystery:
For this murder mystery parody, Sandler and Jennifer Aniston were once again together. The film takes a goofy and self-aware tone, thus even though many of Adam Sandler’s character stereotypes exist. It was definitely a breath of fresh air to witness Sandler in a respectable comedy role, something he may not have done since his previous collaboration with Aniston eight years earlier.
In an event where all the major casts talked about scenes from the movie, Sandler talked about one scene and said,
“Now Terence Stamp had to be dead in this scene. For four minutes, he held his breath the whole time. Then, when we finally called cut man, did he start laughing? I had three more minutes in me for sure.”
