How Sean Penn Became ‘Spicoli’ in ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’

Quick Instances at Ridgemont Excessive arrived in theaters in 1982 and struck a chord with film followers, partially due to the characters. Stoner surfer Jeff Spicoli, performed by Sean Penn, is only one explicit instance which helped to make the movie relatable to their very own highschool experiences. As a result of who did not know a “Spicoli” whereas going to highschool?

It was an element that Penn took very severely — one thing which was to change into a trademark component of his work — however on the time Quick Instances was launched, he solely had a few prior movie credit to his identify. “He was in character the entire time,” Cameron Crowe shared in a brand new interview with the Bare Lunch podcast, which you’ll watch under. “He by no means stated, ‘Hello, my identify is Sean,’ till after the film had wrapped. He got here and visited us in a black leather-based jacket and launched himself. I believed it was hilarious, however he performed it so severely that you just could not actually inform and it was simply so actual, which in fact, is the funniest stuff.”

The Second They Lastly Heard Spicoli’s Most Well-known Line

Crowe recollects that he was on pins and needles, ready to listen to Penn ship what he says was his favourite line within the script, the second when Spicoli indignantly replies to his trainer, Mr. Hand, performed by legendary actor Ray Walford, “You dick!” Although he tried, Penn refused to ship the road previous to filming it. “I might at all times say to him, you have to say the road, ‘you dick.’ I’ll die if [the line] does not come out good, as a result of it is my favourite factor within the script. Simply say ‘you dick,'” he advised hosts Phil Rosenthal and David Wild. The actor, after many requests, merely stated, “I am not going to do it. You will realize it after we do it.”

READ MORE: How ‘Quick Instances at Ridgemont Excessive Revolutionized Teen Motion pictures

The second of reality lastly arrived and quite a few individuals have been available to witness it. Future Pearl Jam supervisor Kelly Curtis was behind the digital camera with Crowe, whereas his then-girlfriend and eventual spouse, Coronary heart’s Nancy Wilson, was additionally within the room. All have been anticipating the supply. “Ray Walston, the one celeb within the forged, is there and he set Sean up for the road,” he displays. “Sean goes, ‘you dick!’ We checked out one another and we’re like, ‘Oh my God, Eureka! It is higher than we even [expected]….it was spectacular.”

However the Well-known Line Induced Drama on the ‘Quick Instances’ Set

Walston, because it turned out, wasn’t happy. “[He] stomped off the set and stated to [director] Amy Heckerling, ‘I will not have a younger actor speak to me like that!’ Sean was so assured. He was so on hearth with [the line] that he would do a take the place he’d say to Ray Walston, ‘You red-faced mother-effer!’ We’d be dying behind the digital camera,” Crowe recollects “Ray Walston at a sure level was like, ‘I did not do all that I did within the enterprise to be talked to by a 21-year outdated child [like that]. I did not work with Invoice Bixby and Billy Wilder to be advised I am a red-faced MF by this little man who additionally calls me a dick!’ In the meantime, we’re high-fiving behind the digital camera. As a result of that is our shot at Spicoli and that is Sean. He knew he had it the entire time.”

Watch Cameron Crowe on the ‘Bare Lunch’ Podcast

Tom Petty Noticed Himself in Jeff Spicoli

As soon as Quick Instances at Ridgemont Excessive was launched, Crowe realized he had a really well-known fan of the film, Tom Petty. The second got here to mild because the pair have been engaged on Heartbreakers Seaside Social gathering, his unintended directorial debut, which not too long ago surfaced for its first-ever theatrical showings.

“[The movie] had simply come out and the studio did not just like the film or imagine in it. They lower [the number of] theaters [screening it] on the final minute. Principally, Quick Instances was solely seen by individuals on VHS later,” he shares. “It was bombing within the theaters, however he knew about Spicoli. He was [telling me], ‘I felt like Spicoli once I was in Gainesville. Individuals would see me with my lengthy hair and instantly assume that I used to be stoned and incapable of thought.’ That was when he stated, ‘Decide up the digital camera, I’ll play this tune for you that you will love’ and that was the start of my directing profession. ‘I am Silly’ [in Heartbreakers Beach Party] is his ode to his personal Spicoli-ness, which is loopy. I used to be going nuts when he was doing it. I am going to always remember how that felt.”

READ MORE: The Reward That Tom Petty Gave Cameron Crowe