Eric Andre just revealed the Oscar-winning role he turned down — a decision he now calls his “biggest mistake.”
The 42-year-old actor and comedian appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on April 7 and shared that he turned down the role of Benji Kaplan in the 2024 film A Real Pain, which was played by Kieran Culkin.
Expanding on this, Andre noted that he got the script and read a few pages but decided not to go for the part, explaining, “I was working on something else when I read the script. I read the script. It was like 120 pages about two Jews babbling about the Holocaust, and that seemed a bit depressing to me upon first read. And I was like, ‘You know what? I'm a comedian; I want to stay in my lane as a comedian.’”
The Lion King star went on to admit that he was not sure if the movie would fit with his “brand,” but it was “the biggest mistake of my entire career.”
For the unversed, Jesse Eisenberg, who directed A Real Pain, also acted in the movie with Culkin.
It is pertinent to mention that Culkin stood victorious by winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actorfor his role in the film at the 2025 Academy Awards on March 3, 2025.