Cameron Diaz Says One 'There's Something About Mary' Scene Sold Her on Film
Cameron Diaz knew she had to star in the 1998 comedy smash hit There's Something About Mary right after devouring the script.
The Farrelly Brothers-directed laugh riot, also featuring Ben Stiller and Matt Dillon, is known for its infamous "hair gel" and zipper scenes, but it was another that got Diaz giggling.
The movie follows Stiller's character getting another shot at his high school dream girl in adulthood, Diaz, after his first date with her back then ended in painful disaster.
Diaz told Vogue she hit the floor the first time she made her way through the pages.
"There's this description in the scene where my brother [W. Earl Brown], literally punches [Matt Dillon] in the throat. For some reason the thought of him punching him in the throat was the funniest thing to me," she told the publication. "I started laughing so hard I literally fell off the bed, and I knew I had to do the movie."
The movie was the highest-grossing comedy of 1998 and the fourth highest-grossing movie overall that year, according to Box Office Mojo.
Diaz was only a few years into her acting career when she took the Mary role. It came after her head-turning debut opposite Jim Carrey in The Mask in 1994.
After 10 years away from Hollywood, she recently returned with a bang starring in the new Netflix thriller Back in Action, opposite Jamie Foxx.
Related: Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx Are 'Back in Action' — With a 21% RT Score