John Turturro recalls losing Eyes Wide Shut despite Stanley Kubrick saying he 'wrote this part' f...

The &34;Severance&34; actor could have been the pianist in Kubrick's final film. John Turturro recalls losing Eyes Wide Shut despite Stanley Kubrick saying he '

The "Severance" actor could have been the pianist in Kubrick's final film.

John Turturro recalls losing *Eyes Wide Shut *despite Stanley Kubrick saying he 'wrote this part' for him

The "Severance" actor could have been the pianist in Kubrick's final film.

By Daysia Tolentino

Published on August 23, 2025 12:00PM EDT

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John Turturro; Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in 'Eyes Wide Shut'. Credit:

John Nacion/FilmMagic; Warner Bros.

John Turturro has worked with some of the best directors, including Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, and the Coen Brothers.

However, there is one filmmaker who slipped from his grasp: Stanley Kubrick.

Turturro recently appeared on the *Happy Sad Confused *podcast and recalled a phone call he had with the late director. The *Severance *actor shared that he accidentally turned down a role in *Eyes Wide Shut* during the conversation.

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The *Shining *director was familiar with Turturro's acting projects. Impressed by his role as Primo Levi in *The Truce, *Kubrick wanted him to play pianist Nick Nightingale in *Eyes Wide Shut.*

"He said, 'I wrote this part for you,'" Turturro recalled. "I didn't say to him, 'Whatever it is, I will do.'"

The *Big Lebowski *star said he was "talking to him like a normal person" despite really wanting to work with Kubrick. Unfortunately, this backfired, as Kubrick apparently believed that the actor wasn't excited enough.**

"The next day, I heard that I wasn't available," Turturro said. "I was unavailable because I didn't tell him, you know, 'No matter what.'"

Tom Cruise and Stanley Kubrick on the set of 'Eyes Wide Shut'.

Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett

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The role of Nick Nightingale eventually went to Todd Field. Turturro said there "were a lot of people who were replaced" in *Eyes Wide Shut, *which ended up being Kubrick's last film and was released months after his death.

"I would have liked to have worked with him just because I'm a big fan of his," the *Batman* actor said.

Listen to the full episode of *Happy Sad Confused* with John Turturro below.

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL Movies"

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Source: VOGUE MAG

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