At first, Pete Davidson was skeptical of Lorne Michaels’ proposal. “The man hasn’t worked for 30 years, he hates working… why?” “It’s a good role that all the actors have been waiting for,” Lorne told him. Despite being picky enough to star in only three movies in the last 20 years, Joe Pesci enjoyed it enough to accept the script for “Bupkis.”
“Dude changed my life, saved my life,” Pete explained. “He liked the stuff enough to do it, but he… we had a really great conversation. He was really honest and natural and kind of got along and he did it out of love because he doesn’t.” You don’t have to do anything.” Beyond adding a little extra star power to the show, the cast also It gave Pete the extra confidence he desperately needed for the show.As he told Jon Bernthal, “I needed approval from someone like this so badly… I got a man that no one else could get. And this changed my life. I owe everything to him.”
“Bupkis” was successful, renewed for a second season and earn the half-hearted respect of most critics. The show can be vulgar at times, but it shows that Pete’s creative work is far more thoughtful and introspective than the tabloids reporting about him. As the show gets particularly dark in its last few episodes, and as Pesci’s character becomes more difficult material to work on, it’s easy to see what drew Pesci into the role. Although Pesci’s involvement in the series may seem like a ridiculous chance to Pete at first, it starts to make a lot more sense once he sees the finished project.