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American actor, comedian and producer Adam Sandler is one of the richest comedians in Hollywood. Adam Sandler who had about 82 acting credits in his filmography has been among the highest paid actors in Hollywood. The actor who started his career in the entertainment industry as a cast member of Saturday Night Live is the 3rd richest comedians as of 2022.
The actor reportedly earns at least $20 million per movie project today and it’s not surprising since he’s had his fair share of box office hits in movie industry. Despite being among the most successful comedians in Hollywood, the actor used to be a simple boy who dreamt of making it big. Take a look at how Adam Sandler’s career started.
Adam Sandler Growing Up As A Diligent Student
Adam Sandler, whose real name is Adam Richard Sandler, was born on September 9, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York. His mother Judith Levine is nursery school teacher while his father Stanley Sandler is an electrical engineer. He grew up in a Jewish household that immigrated from the Russian Jewish community. He spent most of his childhood in Manchester, New Hampshire when his family moved there when he was just six years old.
He has spent most of his teenage years on the said area as well and he ended up attending Manchester Central High School. When he was still a teen, Sandler has been active in the Jewish youth group called BBYO. He was academically good and was a studious student however he was frequently disciplined due to his comedic antics.
After he graduated from High School, he went on take some class at the Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute in New York City. After that, he decided to attend the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.
The 56 years old comedian has always been a comedian and he eventually went on to perform his first standup comedy performance at a club in Boston when he was just 17 years old. He soon completed his education at the prestigious university in 1988 which a bachelor’s degree in acting.
Performing At Numerous Comedy Clubs Before Landing A Spot At SNL
Prior to his film debut, he has been performing at various comedy clubs that soon nurtured his career. While he was performing at one of the comedy clubes, he was discovered by comedian Dennis Miller. Miller saw one of Sandler’s acts on Los Angeles and recommended him to the producer of Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels.
Before Sandler even graduated from college, he’s already appeared on TV. He has played as Smitty on The Cosby Show in 1987. That same year, he also appeared on the MTV game show called Remote Control. A year after his graduation from the university, he finally had his film debut on the film called Going Overboard in 1989.
In 1990, Sandler finally joined the SNL family as one of their writers. Since the producers saw his talent in comedy, he became a featured artist on the show after a year. Sandler started performing some of his original songs on the show including The Chanukah Song and The Thanksgiving Song. Unfortunately for Sandler, he and American actor Chris Farley were fired from the NBC show in 1995.
During the comedian’s five year tenure, he was able to create numerous oddball characters including an opera star who performs satiric songs named Operaman. Despite his firing, Sandler had to move on. Since he was already making a name for himself and even starred in numerous films such Coneheads with David Spade, Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin in 1993 and Airheads with Brendan Fraser in 1994.
Breakthrough In Hollywood That Led To His Theatrical Success
Despite appearing in different comedy films, Sandler only established his name in the industry after starring in Billy Madison in 1995. It is the first film he co-wrote that’s about a wealthy business who needed to prove his worthiness so he can succeed his father. He has earned the critics’ admiration and this helped him plot his success in Hollywood.
He soon starred in numerous box office films that made him a well-known comedian in the industry including Happy Gilmore in 1996, The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer with Drew Barrymore in 1998. With the massive success that Sandler has achieved, he started to establish his own production company in 1999. The company has produced multiple films for him and his friends David Spade and Rob Schneider.
While still performing in comedy films such as Mr. Deeds in 2002 and Anger Management in 2003, the comedian also started dipping into drama genre when he starred in Punch-Drunk Love and Spanglish. He then reunited with American actress Drew Barrymore for the romantic comedy film titled 50 First Dates in 2004.
The actor-comedian continued hustling through the years, appearing in seven films in the next five years including The Longest Yard in 2005, Click in 2006, Reign Over Me and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry in 2007, You Don't Mess with the Zohan and Bedtime Stories in 2008 and Funny People in 2009.
The actor thrived in the romantic-comedy genre and he is considered to be among the best leading men in rom-com films. With years of hustling and grinding, the actor was able to negotiate a salary of $20 million per film according to Celebrity Net Worth which means he could make about $50 up to $60 million in just a year.
Sources: SCMP, The Numbers, Britannica