There was a time when O.J. Simpson was just about the biggest name in entertainment. Long before his famous car chase and the accusations of him committing a heinous crime, O.J. was an A-List actor. His ability to leap from the world of sports into film and television opened the door for other athletes to later do the same. There was even a time when he was being considered for the lead role in Terminator. At that time, there was no stopping his career ascension.
But O.J.'s acting career never recovered after he spent time in jail for a different crime than the one that made him notorious. Many celebrities, such as Howard Stern think this is a good thing. After all, he's made a lot of enemies in the business, many of whom believe he is guilty of the crimes he was acquitted of. But not every one of these celebrities has a personal connection to O.J. like Californication star Evan Handler.
Who Played Alan Dershowitz In The O.J. Series?
2016's The People V O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story made massive news. Not only did it have an all-star cast who gave award-worthy performances, but it also delved into the hotly contested topic with a degree of balance.
Sex And The City And Californication actor Evan Handler was one of the actors praised for his work in the miniseries. He played O.J.'s lawyer, the controversial and acclaimed Alan Dershowitz. In an interview with Vulture, Evan claimed he reached out to Alan personally in order to prepare for the role. He praised how generous Alan was with his time and perspective. Ultimately, this helped the usually funny actor find authenticity in a very dark project.
But Alan Dershowitz wasn't the only connection Evan Handler had to the material. He actually knew O.J. back in the day.
Evan Handler And O.J. Simpson's Relationship
In 1994, O.J. Simpson and Evan Handler were cast in a Navy SEALs show called Frogmen. The series never got past the pilot because O.J.'s life changed forever shortly after they finished filming.
"I believe we finished working on that pilot about five weeks before the murders happened," Evan Handler told Vulture. "It was a bizarre project. It was about these Navy SEALs who went on incredible death-defying missions, and I was playing the guy who was an accountant."
Evan claimed that the entire cast, including O.J., bonded because they were all going through major separations at the time.
"I had broken up with a girlfriend, somebody else had gotten divorced. O.J. talked a lot about wanting to get back together with his ex-wife. He very much played the role of the big brother in the locker room and said to us all, 'The one piece of advice I’d give you fellas is don’t let your ego f*** up your relationships.'"
Evan wasn't a huge football fan before meeting O.J., so he wasn't 'wowed' by his reputation, but he was aware of his status.
"He was the most famous person that I’d hung around with at that time. For me, it was kind of like riding on O.J.’s coattails a little bit. That said, I’ve never been one to get caught up in that kind of jock-ish camaraderie. So I was hanging out with these four guys and doing my work, but feeling pretty much on the outskirts."
Even though the two spent time together working on the show, Evan didn't have anything majorly negative to say about O.J.
"I can’t give you delicious material there. He didn’t strike me as a guy of tremendous depth, but he was pleasant. I enjoyed the proximity and I was interested in the athletic accomplishments, but I did not bond on a significant level," Evan said before sharing his thoughts about O.J. being accused of heinous crimes mere days after spending time with him. "My initial was response was, Oh, poor O.J., I know he wanted to get back together with her. And then, within a few days, when you realize there was an even more horrible angle to it, that was a big turnaround. Then you’re thinking, This person that I just spent all this time with, could they really be capable of that? That’s very, very difficult to adjust to and acknowledge."
Did Evan Handler Worry About Making The O.J. Series?
During his interview with Vulture, Evan was asked if he had any trepidation about starring in a series that centered around a man he once knew. Evan claimed that this is something that barely crossed his mind since he didn't really have much of a personal connection to O.J. Instead, Evan was worried about whether The People V O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story was going to do the issue justice.
"The trepidation [was]: Is this going to be The Towering Inferno or The Poseidon Adventure? Is it going to go down as a camp classic? Or is it going to come out well? That’s the gamble and the leap of faith you consider with every project," Evan explained to Vulture. "[The show] clearly taps into so many things: the horror of what happened to Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, the unfairness of O.J. not being held accountable for it. And yet, the unfairness that the entire black community had lived with for hundreds of years, and continues to so obviously live with — to the point where you can show videotape of the people being slaughtered and large portions of society still say, 'No, no. He shouldn’t have run. If he hadn’t run, it wouldn’t have happened. If he hadn’t been looting, if he hadn’t been stealing from a CVS, it wouldn’t have happened.' As if the punishment for that is being shot in the back. So, the series just really exposes not only the depravity of a lot of our culture and system, but it exposes the imperfection of the systems we have in place to try to balance it."
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