Dick Van Dyke is looking back on the projects he passed up, including two he still thinks about decades later.
Van Dyke was at Vandy High Tea, the annual fundraiser for The Van Dyke Endowment of the Arts and the upcoming Dick Van Dyke Museum, when he got candid about missed opportunities.
The actor, who turns 100 on Dec. 13, revealed that the two projects he regrets missing had to do with the opportunity to work with Cary Grant and Sophia Loren.
“One thing I regret: [declining a movie with] Cary Grant … He was the best looking guy in the world, and I just liked the way he dressed and acted and everything … We got to be good friends. He asked me to do a movie with him, and I can't remember why I said no, and doggone it!” People quoted the actor.
He admitted he also still hasn't gotten over losing a project with Loren in it, something he "never forgave" himself for.
“I'm still mad about that!” he joked. “My agent called me one day, and he said, ‘I had a call from Sophia Loren's manager, she wants to do a movie with you.’ And I said something like, ‘When do we start?’ He says, ‘Well, I turned it down.” I said, “What?’ He said, ‘Well, you would've had to take second billing.’ I said, “I don't care if they mention my name!” I said. ‘I would've paid them!’ I never forgave him for that. He turned down a movie with Sophia Loren. Can you believe that? I didn't even get to meet her.”
However, one movie he doesn't regret is the lead role in the 1976 iconic horror The Omen.
“I could have done The Omen, but I didn’t want to do that kind of movie. It just didn’t fit my taste,” he said.
