10 Great Movie Screen Tests For Famous Actors Who Lost Out

By Quinn Beswick /

4. Dan Fogler - Sam Kinison Biopic

Even with a Tony Award for his work in The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee and many roles in film and television, Dan Fogler isn't an actor many people know by name. Clearly a talented comedian, Dan has yet to have a breakthrough film role. Playing someone as revered as Sam Kinison certainly could be the role that changes that. Talk of this biopic has been around since 2008, so it is probably safe to say this movie will never happen; at least not with this director, this script, and most likely, this actor. Besides possessing a strikingly similar look, Dan perfectly emulates Kinison's "ticking timebomb" delivery. Without taking the easy route of just simply doing an impression, in this screentest, Fogler seems like a fully formed human being. Kinison said that he took a lot of his delivery from Gene Wilder, but brought it to a new level. There is something beautiful about an actor, on the fringe of Hollywood stardom, taking Sam Kinison's delivery (and legacy) to a new level. Unfortunately for Dan Fogler, even a very impressive screentest doesn't always mean you get the part... or that the movie will even get made at all.