Curry Barker almost played Bear in the surprise box-office hit film Obsession.
Almost Lead Actor
The 26-year-old filmmaker has made waves in Hollywood after his horror flick became a surprise box office sensation, and now his co-star and YouTube collaborator Cooper Tomlinson has revealed how the director nearly took on the lead role in the haunting project.
He told The Hollywood Reporter, “Curry definitely considered playing Bear at one point, but I left it up to him. I think the movie would’ve been great regardless, but he ended up just wanting to direct.”
“He was able to make the best movie possible by being behind the camera and leading the ship. He didn’t have to think about being in front of the camera for his first big movie.”
Creating Obsession
Tomlinson, who plays Bear’s friend Ian in the film, first met Curry Barker at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, before they dropped out and launched their own That’s A Bad Idea channel.
By 2023, the writer and director had a pitch for Obsession, and the following year, the duo started work on the movie, which was made for just $750,000 and has grossed $334 million and counting over its first 39 days.
Screen Tests as Bear
In the end, Michael Johnston was cast as Bear, but Curry Barker revealed that even he read for the lead during some screen tests in the horror flick.
He explained, “When we started to put the movie together at the end of 2023 or top of 2024, I actually got to play Bear in a screen test. I did test footage with the crew at our friend’s house.”
“We shot the scene where Bear makes the wish. We did that whole scene with the car and Nikki’s front door, only with different actors. I actually saw some of that footage the other day, and it was just so fun to be able to do that.”
Everything Worked Out
However, there was no consideration of him actually taking on the character.
Tomlinson added, “No, we just needed somebody to fill in and play Bear for the moment.”
“But as soon as I saw Michael’s performance, I knew he was the right guy for that role. He killed it. I don’t think I could have done the character like he did.”
“So it all worked out the way it was supposed to, and it was really always Ian for me. Whether it was one line or the lead, I was happy.”