Eric André talks regret over rejecting ‘A Real Pain’ role

Eric André, actor and comedian, revealed that before Jesse Eisenberg pitched the role of Benji Kaplan to Kieran Culkin for A Real Pain, he first offered the part to him.

In a recent podcast episode of Whiskey Ginger, he recalled, "Two years ago, Jesse Eisenberg called me [and] offered me the role that Kieran Culkin got the Oscar for."

André explained why he had dropped the role.

"I was like, ‘That seems really miserable and not in my lane'," he said. "To go to Poland for six weeks and shoot a movie where we’re just babbling about the Holocaust seems like a bummer."

André politely rejected the role appreciating the offer and wished it good luck. However, seeing the end result he regrettably quipped, "The m*****er [Culkin] won an Oscar for the role I passed up. It’s not like I get offered roles constantly."

In addition to the big Oscar win, Culkin also bagged the SAG Award and the Independent Spirit Award for his portrayal of Benji in A Real Pain.

Eisenberg wrote, directed and starred in the film alongside Culkin in a story about two cousins who reconnect to pay homage to their grandmother.