Photo: Paramount Pictures/Everett
Maxwell Caulfield is admitting that he struggled watching hisGrease 2costarMichelle Pfeifferrise to fame while his own career stalled after the movie came out.
The actor, 61, played Michael in theGreasesequel, which hit theaters in 1982. Caulfield recently toldPage Sixthat “it was, psychologically, quite a kick in the pants” to see his costar go on to score bigger roles in more popular movies.
AfterGrease 2debuted, Pfeiffer, now 63, was cast inScarface,and went on to star in films likeDangerous LiaisonsandBatman Returns.
Looking back on the experience, Caulfield said, “And of course, Michelle rose like a Phoenix, right? DidScarfaceand that, so that made it even, frankly, a little harder to swallow.”
Paramount Pictures/Everett
“Every actor has his and her own path. She has gone on to multiple Oscar nominations and the rest of it,” Caulfield told Page Six. “She delivers and she defines Hollywood beauty…You can’t begrudge them their success.”
He added, “But as I said, simultaneously, it makes it that much tougher to see that you’ve been benched. And it took a long wait time to come back.”
BeforeGrease 2premiered, Caulfield toldNew Yorkmagazinein 1982 that he anticipated the film would make him a widely recognized star.
“Next year, if this film is marketed right, everyone will want to look like Maxwell Caulfield. I’m fascinated to see if the public is going to accept me or reject me,” he said at the time, perBBC. “We’re all terribly excited.”
While his prediction did not come true, the actor eventually booked an iconic role of his own years later inEmpire Records, the 1995 drama about an independent record store. Caulfield played Rex Manning in the film, a role that earned him his own informal"Rex Manning Day"in celebration of the character, which movie fans celebrate annually on April 8.
BBC’s Claire Thorp wrote last year, “It might have a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and frequently appear in lists of the worst sequels – but it also has an army of fans willing to argue to the death that it is, in fact, ‘The Empire Strikes Backof the Grease movies.'”
source: people.com
