Featured image: Choreographer Paul Becker and director Kenny Ortega. Photo: Paulbecker1 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Lowdown
A near-miss casting story is catnip for a cult classic, and this one has a lovely kicker in Katz calling it his one-in-a-thousand win. It also stings a little that the original kids were left out of Hocus Pocus 2.
Key Takeaways
- At 90s Con on October 18, Ortega said Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for the role of Max Dennison (USA Today).
- Omri Katz, who got the role, said he didn’t know he was competing against DiCaprio (USA Today).
- Jason Marsden, Vinessa Shaw, Thora Birch, Tobias Jelinek and Larry Bagby also appeared; the Sanderson sisters did not (USA Today).
The Story
Ortega, who said he hadn’t reunited with the cast in more than 20 years, told the Hartford crowd the role went to Katz because “this young man delivered an amazing performance” (USA Today) (People).
“I did not know I was competing against Leonardo,” Katz said, adding that the two often went out on auditions together. Shaw, who played Allison, said Sarah Jessica Parker gave her advice on navigating a career as a young actor (USA Today).
Hocus Pocus flopped at the box office in 1993 before becoming a Halloween staple through TV airings and home video. The original younger cast was not invited back for 2022’s Hocus Pocus 2 (USA Today).
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