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# Copy cat Schneider takes a beating, keeps on grinning
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/copy-cat-schneider-takes-a-beating-keeps-on-grinning/
- Published: 2004-02-13T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:47:21.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import

From making copies for the likes of Sting (aka “the Sting-meister … Sting-a-ling-a-ling!”) on “Saturday Night Live” to encouraging “The Waterboy” with a lusty, “You can dooooo it,” funnyman Rob Schneider has carved out a pretty impressive career playing it peculiar. Best known for his collaborations with SNL alum Adam Sandler in hits such as “Big Daddy” and “Mr. Deeds,” Schneider seems perfectly content playing second or third fiddle to his more famous friend. He’s at it again, playing a dope-smoking, shark-lovin’ Hawaiian opposite Sandler and Drew Barrymore in “50 First Dates,” which opens today. The easygoing San Francisco native sat down recently with a group of reporters.

QUESTION: What goes through your mind when Adam Sandler comes to you and says you’re going to do a scene in which you get savagely beaten with a baseball bat?

ROB SCHNEIDER: He didn’t tell me until that day that there was a bat involved. But if I think it’s funny, I’m going to do it. So I did.

Q: Judging by the way she swung that bat, Drew Barrymore looks like she’s ready for the major leagues.

RS: She really got into it, and started whacking me. The medic came over, and I had welts all over my back, and he started to spray this stuff on them. I told him not to do that, because if Drew saw that, she’d stop whacking me, and we wouldn’t get the shot. She’s sweet like that.

Q: You’ve played some truly memorable characters, including Ula in “50 First Dates.” Do you have a favorite?

RS: I think Ula is going to be the best one. The more problems a character has, the more fun it is for me. I figure, this guy’s 35, he doesn’t read the language, and kids half his age are making more money than him. He’s angry, but he’s also very childish. He’s similar to Drew and Adam in that he has this childlike innocence and he doesn’t try to suppress it.

Q: Where does the experience of making “50 First Dates” rank among the many films you’ve made?

RS: This film was a real ass-kicker. It was a big challenge because I had lots going on. I wanted to get the accent and the wild eyes and things down, and not make it seem like I was trying too hard. I wanted to get lost in (the character). Adam had more faith in it than I did at first. It wasn’t until the day we started shooting that I really felt comfortable doing it.

Q: Could you compare your experience on “Saturday Night Live” to working in film?

RS: It’s hard to do a three-minute sketch because it’s short, but there still has to be a beginning, middle and end. Monty Python could just cut away to animation or something, but Saturday Night Live had to have an ending. (SNL) was great practice, because you really got to feel a scene and a character, but to carry that for 90 minutes — like you have to do in a movie — is a lot tougher than doing short sketches.

Q: Do you miss doing the show? RS: I miss the security of it. The thing with films is, if you’re not successful every time out, it could be your last movie. My (most recent) movie, “The Hot Chick,” made around $35 million, and Disney was-n’t overly happy with that. I hope I’ll get to make another one, because you never know — it’s an expensive canvas, making movies.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 13, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/021304.pdf?ref=smdp.com)