Final Destination was 'tough' to cast - particularly one horror legend

Metro

17-05-2025

Final Destination may be 25 years old, but the franchise shows no sign of 'dying' anytime soon. That said, one of its stars really didn't want any part of the film…
The supernatural horror movie was released on March 17, 2000 and followed teenager Alex Browning, who has a premonition just before a doomed flight to Paris.
His panic to get off the plane, however, leads to a string of his classmates also disembarking, and they soon find themselves stalked by 'Death' who wants revenge on the teens for messing up his grand plan.
Devon Sawa fronted the scare-fest alongside Ali Larter, Seann William Scott, Kerr Smith, Tony Todd and Kristen Cloke.
Although the first flick was met with dismal reviews from critics who branded it 'forgettable crap' and 'sheer idiocy', director James Wong proved them all wrong as the franchise is still going strong today, with the Bloodlines sequel recently hitting the big screen in May.
Legendary casting director John Papsidera was tasked with putting the cast together, with Final Destination becoming one of his first projects. He returned for the first two sequels, before working on Oscar-winning flicks including the Dark Knight, Oppenheimer and Inception.
Speaking to Metro for the anniversary, he shed light on the famous faces who almost landed a role, and the actor who made it very clear that he didn't want to take part.
'It was so early on in my career of being out on my own, on some level, and it was during a time where there were so many teen comedies being made that everybody was scrambling for young actors in those days,' he told us.
'So, in the zeitgeist of those moments, you go, 'Oh yeah, Devon Sawa, what was a big thing then, Ali Larter was a big thing then.' Getting kids like that, you were excited about.
'It all worked, and I was thrilled with that cast.'
Although the cast were becoming household names when they joined the project, John had a 'tough' time initially putting the final line-up together and getting the bigger names to sign on the dotted line.
Reflecting on how the stars finally aligned for Devon, Ali and co, he revealed that Entourage star Adrian Grenier tried out for the role of Alex – and memorably slated the project while in the audition room.
'Finding Devon was tough,' he shared. 'I had already done Idle Hands with Devon … Devon was really sought after in those days. He had a skill set that a lot of other guys didn't have, and so it was fascinating.
'He [had] the boy next door quality. But Devon really had chops as an actor. He had humour and likability.
'Adrian Grenier came in to meet on it, and basically told the filmmakers why he didn't like the movie, and why he didn't want to do it… They didn't blame me for it, but it was something that stuck with them.
'They were like, 'I don't understand why he'd come in and tell us why he doesn't want to do it.' That was something I hadn't remembered until just this moment.'
While Seann was a shoo-in for his role as Billy – having previously worked with Craig [Perry, producer] on American Pie – the other characters running from Death were tougher to fill.
John recalled that Clear was actually based on a 'very smart woman' with the same name, who served as James and screenwriter Glen Morgan's assistant – and they were searching for someone with 'those qualities that Clear had, and does possess, in real life'.
Jessica Biel was among those who were up for the part, and got very close to the role before Ali eventually won everyone involved over.
'I had seen Ulee's Gold, I think Ulee's Gold had already come out that, that movie [Jessica] did with Peter Fonda that I thought she was amazing in,' he said.
'Ali really aligned with how they wrote the story about Clear, and who Ali was, physically, how she looked, the vibe she had… Clear had a very laid back, cool vibe about her – which Jessica did as well, but Jessica was a little bit more, not coy, but a little bit quieter in her performance.
'Whereas Ali still had that very congenial thing, but still came off as an everyday girl, a beautiful girl, a smart girl. I think those were qualities that they were modelling the character after a real-life person.
'Kristen Cloke – there was a lot of women that we met or talked about for that role as the teacher. Kristen is Glen's wife, so he had a vested interest in it. She was really right for it. Her reading was fantastic.
'There was some politics around that I think nobody really wanted to point a finger at it and say, 'Oh, well, this is why we don't want to do it.' But Kristen was great. It's like, 'Well, why not? If she wasn't married, she'd still win the role.'
'Tony Todd was a tough role to cast, but we wanted somebody whose image would stick with you and Tony's voice… Sadly, we just lost Tony. There was a lot in convincing Tony to be in this teen thriller horror movie. But he was great.
'I have nothing but really fond, fun memories about casting that movie.'
The Final Destination franchise is known for some of the most catastrophic death scenes in cinema history, with something small and insignificant leading to devastating consequences.
Who could forget a slushie and a squeezy tube of cream eventually sparking a malfunction in the third movie, trapping Ashlyn (Crystal Lowe) and Ashley (Chelan Simmons) in two tanning beds as they slowly burned to death, while Rollercoaster blasted out of an old CD player.
It's fair to say that the movie has made us all think twice about ever tanning again, getting laser eye surgery, driving behind a logging truck, or even daring to visit a fairground.
John insisted that he didn't cast anyone with those gruesome death scenes in mind, but believes that this is part of the brilliance of all things Final Destination, and why we are still obsessed with the films more than 20 years on.
'That's what we talked about when I first sat down with them, is that it carries over into everyday life,' he declared. 'It stays with you. I think about it, every time I get on a plane and look at the air conditioning.
'That's 25 years later, escalators, the logging truck – all those things were so well thought out, so clever and so in your life every day. It made it all seem so plausible, which I think is the scariest things about movies.
'That's what impressed me when I first read it, the stuff that sticks to your memory and you live through every day. I thought was just a genius idea for the movie.
'I haven't seen it in a long time, but I think all those things are still applicable. It's all things that we still do. The other thing that I think is interesting about it because they are real-life, practical things…
'I work with Chris Nolan, and Chris is so focused on making things practical, not using computer effects. Final Destination did that in a real way that I think it's a great talisman, in the sense that that's the way things used to be, before we spoke through computers, and only did things online.
'That was the insidiousness of that as well, because it's real. You can touch it and feel it, and those things can happen if the right events occur. So, I would think that it stands up really well because it doesn't have to do with outdated technology.
'I worked on The Net back in the day. You look at that movie now, and you go, 'Jesus, this was before there was an internet, before we had computers'. It doesn't stand up because of the advances. But what does stand up about Final is that those are all still with us here today. It's just part of everyday life.'
We are tantalizingly close to the sixth film in the franchise and, while John has no part in the movie, he is 'thrilled' for Craig and co that they were able to get another movie greenlit and bring some fun back to the big screen. More Trending
'[Craig] has really taken the franchise to a different level, and the longevity of it – to be able to have a sixth one coming out is just phenomenal,' he added. 'It speaks to his salesmanship, as well as his creativity to keep something alive, interesting, real and nostalgic all in the same way, it's phenomenal.
'I can't think of very many other franchises that have done that.'
Metro has contacted Adrian's reps for a comment.
An earlier version of this story was published on March 17, 2025.
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