Wallace Shawn explained weekly fun He felt that his performance was influenced by the long shadow of the actor who was first considered for the role: Danny DeVito. Shawn explained:
“I wasn’t the first person they wanted. [for the part]. Unfortunately, my manager at the time believed it would be helpful for me to know who they really wanted, so he told me – it was Danny DeVito. Looking back, it didn’t help. Danny is unique. In every scene we did, I imagined how he would do it, and I knew I would never do it the way he could. It made it difficult. I’ve told Danny about it ever since. ‘You know, the most well-known of all the things I’ve done since I was born is a part of me that I had because you were unavailable.’ I said. He may have laughed nervously when I said that.”
It would be really scary knowing that not only are you not the first choice for the role, but the first choice is indeed a bigger-than-life actor. Of course, it worked for the best because imagining anyone other than Shawn, even someone as creepy as DeVito, in the role is truly unthinkable. Shawn has made Vizzini his own and there are no signs of anxiety he was feeling at the time.
“Never go against a Sicilian when it comes to death!”