Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty
Adam Sandlerreceived the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night, whenJennifer Aniston,Chris RockandPete Davidsonwere among the celebrities who toasted — and roasted — the star.
“We all work hard, but nobody works as hard as the Sandman,” Rock, 58, who has known Sandler, 56, for 30 years, said during the ceremony.
Referencing how his friend did not receive an Oscar nomination for his 2019 movieUncut Gems, the comedian added, “Nobody comes even close, sothe Oscars, you know, they’re f—– a——-, and if they don’t want to give my man his props, then we will tonight.”
“Paul Pelosi, the only guy who knows how I felt,” Rock said, drawing laughter from Sandler and the rest of the audience. “Just me and you, Paul. Just me and you, babe.”
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Aniston, 54, andDrew Barrymore, who have both played Sandler’s love interests onscreen, later performed a routine where they took turns sharing all things Sandler has done for each of them over the years — most of which ended up being the same. They then joked that they will appear together in a movie without Sandler.
“We should do that movie that you and I have been talking about,” Aniston said, to which Barrymore, 48, responded: “You mean the one where we don’t need that goofy boyfriend?”
On the red carpet, Barrymore was asked about her onscreen chemistry with Sandler.
“It’s all based in love, admiration and humor. I just always believed in him so much, and not that my opinion matters, but I just felt like this is the guy. This is the one. All us women were so in love with him onSNL,” she said. “I was so there for what Adam Sandler was putting out into the world that I just wanted to be next to it. I wanted some place to put my admiration, and I thought a film was the most safe and cathartic place to do it.”
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Sandler’s other pals also took time to lovingly joke about the formerSaturday Night Livecast member, includingRob Schneider, who performed his own version of Sandler’s song “Grow Old With You” from the 1998 movieThe Wedding Singer.
“Nobody gave Adam Sandler his success. Adam earned this through his hard work in a really tough business, show business,” he said. “People ask me: why does Adam put me in so many movies? And it’s because he wants to laugh and share his tremendous success with his friends, plus I will do really humiliating s— that he won’t do.”
“Adam is a very generous guy,“David Spadeadded. “He has hired his whole family tree to work for him. The call sheet looks like Ancestry.com.”
Davidson, 29, meanwhile, described Sandler as his “hero,” and added that the star-studded lineup was there not only to honor him, but also to remind everyone “how much betterSNLwas in the ’90s.”
As clips from Sandler’sSNLdays were peppered throughout the entire ceremony, along with scenes from his classic comedies likeHappy Gilmore, Davidson told the crowd he auditioned for Sandler’s 1999 movieBig Daddy, but didn’t get the part.
Conan O’Brien,Dana CarveyandJudd Apatowalso toasted their fellow friend and comic.
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By the time Sandler accepted the prize, he was beaming and thanked his close friends and family for coming to honor his achievement.
“Everybody was great. I love you and thanks for working so hard on all of your stuff and writing your very great jokes and I just love tonight,” he said.
Sandler also noted that his family gave him the support and confidence he needed to become successful.
“When it came time to pick my college major, my brother was the one who said I should be an actor. I said, ‘Well, what am I going to do with my life?’ He said, ‘You should be an actor. You’re as funny asRodney DangerfieldandEddie Murphy.’ And I never thought that, but he sort of just made me feel like I was,” he said. “And that’s what my family really did for me. They gave me some insane, weird confidence about myself that I guess I still carry today.”
He added, “I feel like everyone who came and spoke up there, I think we all truly love each other. We have each other’s backs for life. People always would ask me those bad reviews you get, how does that make you feel, like s—? It really doesn’t. I think the reason I get to say it didn’t hurt me is because so many of you guys in this room made me feel great about what we’ve done together.”
The Mark Twain Prize ceremony airs March 26 at 8 p.m. ET on CNN.
source: people.com
