MovieChat Forums > Men in Black (1997) Discussion > What if Tea Leoni played Laurel instead ...

What if Tea Leoni played Laurel instead of Linda Fiorentino?


I mean, she had already worked with Will Smith on Bad Boys and she like Linda (who was allegedly a major pain in the ass to work with to the point in which Tommy Lee Jones said that he wouldn't come back for Men in Black II if Linda Fiorentino came back) has a very deep, sultry sounding voice.

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Interesting, I never knew that story about TLJ and Fiorentino.

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Fiorentino would remain superior. She nailed that cynical edge to the character.

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I didn't know about the mentioned issues with Linda, but I agree. She played the part of gloomy sardonic coroner very well.

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https://www.datalounge.com/thread/28768133--push-actors-as-inspired-by-the-linda-lavin-thread

[R313] Right when she was primed for superstardom in the 90s, things turned against her: a technicality cost her a certain Best Actress nom (and a likely win) for “The Last Seduction”; she had a couple of duds/bombs (“Jade”, “Unforgettable”); and worst of all, she garnered a reputation far and wide as someone who was “difficult” to work with. Add to that the inevitable aging-out that happens to lead actresses, as well as her publicly documented romance (and possibly conspiracy after the fact with) Anthony Pellicano, and I think you have a bunch of good explanations for her pariah status in Hollywood.

—PrimusPilus
reply 315 15 hours ago

https://lebeauleblog.com/2014/01/04/what-the-hell-happened-to-linda-fiorentino/

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That's showbiz I guess.

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KEVIN SMITH REGRETS CASTING HER IN DOGMA...SHE WAS AWFU TO WORK WITH I GUESS...HE WISHES HE HAD CAST JANEANE GAROFALO IN THE ROLE,SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN SO GREAT,JUST LIKE TEA WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT IN MIB.

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It's not that big of a role, any good looking actress could have nailed it. Will and Tommy were the stars.

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Exactly. When I grade acting, I always include a degree of difficulty for the part. Laurel was a 3 on a scale of 10. Fiorentino to her credit played this low difficulty part fine. As a comparison, another low degree of difficulty part was Edgar's wife Beatrice. She took a low importance role and knocked it out of the park without being over the top.

I think Tia would have put her own spin on Laurel and would have done a fine job.

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Jeannene Garafalo was also up for the role of the Coroner. I think she might actually have been too funny, pulled focus from Smith and Jones.

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Quite possible. She outshined Joaquin Phoenix and Vince Vaughn in 'Clay Pigeons' a year later.

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