Steven Spielberg ‘had no idea’ two actors were in comedy duo before casting them

Legendary film director Steven Spielberg once cast two actors without realising the pair had been a comedy duo for decades.

The Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind mastermind had sought out the two stars separately, and it appears to be a happy coincidence that the two had worked closely with one another for years. When casting performers for The Post, Spielberg was unaware of the pair’s relationship, according to Bob Odenkirk. The Better Call Saul star makes up one half of the duo, and was cast in The Post alongside his comedy sparring partner, David Cross. The duo enjoyed decades of success together with the Mr. Show with Bob and David series, though Spielberg seemed unaware of their work together.

Speaking of the oversight at the time of The Post’s release, Odenkirk broke down how he and Cross found themselves on the same set in Spielberg’s adaptation of The Washington Post’s investigation into the Pentagon Papers. He told The LA Times: “Whenever there was a group scene, he would end up sticking me and David [Cross] next to each other.

“We did Mr. Show on HBO together. So I’d look at David, and he’d be like, ‘Does he know? Is he doing this on purpose?'” It does not appear Spielberg was aware of the Mr. Show connection, and it appears instead the pair were cast on their acting merit in happenstance circumstances.

Odenkirk believes he did a good enough job to remain in the movie, but isn’t fully certain of how he came across to Spielberg at the time. He added: “Steven is a light-hearted person who’s also capable of being earnest and sentimental. I think my sensibility is more cutting and maybe even you can say mean-spirited.

“I didn’t want to insult or hurt his feelings or say something rude that would make him feel uncomfortable. He’s such a good person and I feel like he sees the world through generous lenses. I don’t. I’m a comedy guy. I come from comedy and we tear the world down, and that’s what we do. I think we pulled it off. I tried to be very nice. As far as the acting part, I hope I made him happy. He left me in the movie. We can say that.”

Spielberg had initially not been set to direct The Post. He had been working on The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara for the Weinstein Company, but dropped the projcet over casting setbacks. He was handed the screenplay to The Post and decided to make it his next project.

He said at the time: “When I read the first draft of the script, this wasn’t something that could wait three years or two years — this was a story I felt we needed to tell today.”