10 Hidden Movies Secrets From Director's Commentaries
2. Emilio Estevez Was Almost The Star Of Gremlins
The Gremlins audio commentary is a joint effort between director Joe Dante and cast members Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Dick Miller and Howie Mandel, and best of all, the latter does speak in his Gizmo voice.
Galligan is best known for playing Billy Peltzer in the movie and its sequel, but according to the commentary, it's a role he almost missed out on.
Emilio Estevez was Dante's top pick until producer Steven Spielberg waded in on the matter. He dubbed the actor's audition tape as "internalising", which is bad, apparently.
Judd Nelson is also said to have been up for the role, but displayed too much anger in his audition. Needless to say Galligan, fended off steep competition for this part.