Donald Faison Thought Clueless Would Be “the Worst Movie Ever”

The world is majorly, totally, butt crazy in love with Clueless, but that didn’t always seem possible—just ask one of the film’s stars, Donald Faison. 

As the actor behind Dionne’s boyfriend, Murray, Faison was unforgettably a part of Amy Heckerling‘s now iconic 1995 coming-of-age rom-com. However, as he recalled in a new episode of Justin Long‘s Life is Short podcast, there was a time when the film seemed far from the hit it became. 

“I remember thinking, ‘This is gonna be the worst movie ever,'” Faison told Long, noting the characters were talking “weird” and unlike what he had heard in his neighborhood. 

Still, he wanted to ace his auditions and get the role, so before his final callback, he rehearsed with people from his neighborhood and they gave him ideas for the character. As it turns out, his callback was with one of his most memorable scenes from the movie: his “Excuse me, Miss Dionne” speech. As we know by now, Faison landed the role and continued the character for three seasons of the teen sitcom that followed. 

The actor also remembered how young and new the actors and actresses were, including co-star Paul Rudd, who was one of the few cast members who was old enough to drink. 

“We were kids and so, it came from honesty,” he told Long. “Even though we were learning these big lines, we were all literally kids, all really hungry, so for it to be grounded, [Heckerling] was just like, ‘Just be you. It’s alright. Don’t worry about it. Just be honest with it.”

Ultimately, producer Adam Schroeder “was the one that told me, ‘This is going to be a hit movie,'” Faison said. “I was like, ‘It is!?'”

Clueless fail? As if!