Famous TV Host Reveals Why He Turned Down Role with Christian Clavier 12 Years Ago!

Even the most seasoned professionals can miss out on massive success. Cyril Hanouna knows this all too well: the host of “All New, All Fun” on W9 could have played a significant role in “Serial (Bad) Weddings,” the blockbuster comedy directed by Philippe de Chauveron.

Last year on Fun Radio’s “All New All Fun,” the presenter humorously reflected on this missed opportunity: “I might have an instinct for TV or radio, but in cinema, I’m a disaster,” he admitted, before highlighting the film’s success: “You know the movie Serial (Bad) Weddings? Huge hit! 12 million tickets sold.“

A Role Offered Directly by Philippe de Chauveron

At the time the project was in its planning stages, the director personally reached out to Cyril Hanouna. Although the two did not know each other, Philippe de Chauveron already envisioned the host as one of the four sons-in-law in the Verneuil family.

“Philippe de Chauveron, the producer and director of the film, calls me and says he wants to meet about a project. I didn’t know him, but he’s really nice. I tell him to come to my dressing room before a show. He comes and he says, ‘Look, I’m writing a movie, it’s going to be called Serial (Bad) Weddings, and I’m thinking of you for one of the lead roles’,” Hanouna recounted.

When asked by one of his commentators about the character he was to play – “You were playing which one? Not the Muslim, not the Catholic… who were you playing?” – the presenter did not give a perfectly clear answer. However, his story does reveal that he was considered for the role of David Benichou, ultimately played by Ary Abittan.

A Script That Failed to Convince

This proposal was not just a casual idea mentioned in passing. Philippe de Chauveron returned several times to the presenter and even handed him the script so he could make an informed decision.

“‘It’s for you, I see you in this. I say, ‘With pleasure.’ He comes back a month later, with the script. He explains that it’s one of the 4 main roles. He comes back again a month later to ask what I thought of the script.’“

However, upon reading it, Cyril Hanouna did not share the filmmaker’s enthusiasm. Convinced the project would not meet its audience, he ultimately declined the offer. The box office results would soon prove him wrong.

“And then, I tell him, ‘I don’t know, I’m not feeling it, it won’t work. I’m not going to do it, I don’t believe in your thing.’ 12 million tickets sold, and every time I see the movie, I tell myself, ‘You see, I have an instinct for cinema!’,” he said ironically.

A Family That Became a Staple of French Cinema

Released in 2014, “Serial (Bad) Weddings” features Claude and Marie Verneuil, played by Christian Clavier and Chantal Lauby, a conservative Catholic bourgeois couple who try to hide their prejudices as their first three daughters marry a Muslim, a Jew, and a Chinese man. All their hopes are now pinned on their youngest daughter, whose new partner is Catholic.

To play the four Verneuil daughters, Philippe de Chauveron cast Élodie Fontan, Frédérique Bel, Émilie Caen, and Julia Piaton. Their husbands are portrayed by Frédéric Chau, Medi Sadoun, Noom Diawara, and Ary Abittan.

The outcome surpassed all expectations: with 12.3 million tickets sold in France, the film became one of the decade’s biggest box office successes. Two sequels would later extend the family’s adventures, in 2019 and 2022.

Although Cyril Hanouna is not entirely new to the film industry, over the years, he has made appearances in “Would I Lie to You? 3,” “The New Adventures of Aladdin,” “Pattaya,” “The Déguns,” and “Simply Black,” directed by Jean-Pascal Zadi.

The Serial (Bad) Weddings saga is available for streaming.

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