Why Dennis Hopper did the Mario movie

By Ellie Gibson Published 7 November, 2008

Wanted to buy ungrateful child shoes.

Acting legend Dennis Hopper has revealed why he really agreed to be in the Super Mario Bros. film. And no, it wasn't because he thought it was just such a great script.

As reported by 1UP, Hopper appeared on US TV show Late Night with Conan O'Brien recently. The actor has now been in nearly 150 movies, and Conan the O'Brien asked whether he regretted signing up for any of them.

"I made a picture called Super Mario Bros.," Hopper began. "My six year-old son at the time - he's now 18 - he said, 'Dad, I think you're probably a pretty good actor, but why did you play that terrible guy King Koopa in Super Mario Bros.?'

"I said, 'Well Henry, I did that so you could have shoes.'

"And he said, 'Dad, I don't need shoes that badly.'"

Has your father ever had to appear in a pisspoor big screen adaptation of a popular videogame to get you a new pair of Hi-Tecs, readers?

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (23) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • gilroyneil #1 3 years ago

    That movie was DA BOMB

  • bad09 #2 3 years ago

    Oi! Leave He Man alone you! :)

    This was bad though, like many movies these days I am amazed anyone thought it would actually work.

    Still, could be worse he could have done Street Fighter. Van Damme who?

  • Steroyd #3 3 years ago

    That movie didn't even do anything mario-ish (where's the jumping on Goomba's head? where were the Koopa Troopas? WHY DIDN'T YOSHI EAT ANYTHING!?), okay i'm about 15 years too late to realise this, but man... way to take advantage of little ol' me. :(

  • DFawkes #4 3 years ago

    I wouldn't say it was just a bad movie. It was a bad thing full stop, possibly one of the worst things ever made in the history of creation.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/08 @ 09:55

  • Ninja_Tino #5 3 years ago

    "IT'S A BO-BOMB!"

  • DanWhitehead #6 3 years ago

    At least videogame movies in the 90s were cheesy bad in a gruesomely fascinating car crash sort of way. They failed, but they failed spectacularly. I know I'd have more fun sitting through a triple bill of Street Fighter, Double Dragon and Mario Bros than the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil and Doom movies.

  • mischief #7 3 years ago

    Didn't he make the same excuse about Waterworld? I think his son remarked at the time that he did not need shoes that badly.

  • bad09 #8 3 years ago

    Dan has a point, they were crap and cheesy but fun unlike the likes of Alone in The Dark, Resident Evil and Tomb Raider (but Double Dragon Dan?? Jesus...).

    Mind you my fav game movie ever is a recent one Silent Hill was ace, I'm so glad they didn't mess that up (although I still don't really understand what happened at the end????)

  • Fleisch #9 3 years ago

    I don't remember waterworld being as bad as the Mario movie. Infact I remember enjoying waterworld in a brain disengaging way!

  • Dezm0nd #10 3 years ago

    That move was bob-omb.

    Edit: Beaten. :(
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/08 @ 10:18

  • Kyle #11 3 years ago

    "Has your father ever had to appear in a pisspoor big screen adaptation of a popular videogame to get you a new pair of Hi-Tecs, readers?"

    Actually, yes. Maybe you've heard of him. His name is Mark Wahlberg.

  • Weezer #12 3 years ago

    Maybe if Dennis hadn't snorted all the profits from his previous hundred movies, he could have afforded shoes for his whole family.

  • scouserfuller9 #13 3 years ago

    If it wasn't for Bob Hoskin's dressed as Mario I wouldn't of had a clue this movie related to the game!

  • Psi #14 3 years ago

    Yeah but he was in blue velvet for christ sake!

  • dr_shambles #15 3 years ago

    Strangely I could see Hopper in a film version of Killer 7 directed by Miike Takashi. Can't see them selling much popcorn though.

  • Madafunkola #16 3 years ago

    "Has your father ever had to appear in a pisspoor big screen adaptation of a popular videogame to get you a new pair of Hi-Tecs, readers?"

    My father is Uwe Boll... I have no shoes... :(

  • Joco84 #17 3 years ago

    Hahaha, this film.... I fookin love it!!

    Bob Hoskins and John Luigi-orgamso (can't remember his surname, plays Tibalt in R&J) were ace, their acting was oscar-winning!

    Goombas & Koopas who had massive trench coats and tiny heads, looked like some of test tube experiment gone wrong

    Yoshi.... well he was a fooking dinosaur

    Iggy - well he was played by the "Johnny Five is Alive!!!" dude

    Princess Daisy - Eye candy!

    Narrator - Homer bloody Simpson!!!

    Still brings a tear to my eye :D

  • Bremenacht #18 3 years ago

    My father appeared in 'Saving Private Ryan', which was a piss-poor rip-off of 'Stonkers'.

  • Oh-Bollox #19 3 years ago

    My father starred in D-Day, which was just a piss-poor rip off of the Somme, only set on a beach.

  • Cannibal #20 3 years ago

    I think there is a market for a new Mario movie, but one done in CGI. I could see it pulling in kids and drawing a few million at the box office if they teamed up with someone like Dreamworks or Pixar.

  • AOFanboi #21 3 years ago

    From a meeting in "crap watchers anonymous":

    - "Hi, my name is AOFanboi, and I have seen Super Mario Brothers three times. In the cinema."
    - "Get out of here! We cannot help you! Leave before you contaminate us all!"

    At least Dennis Hopper could make good movies afterwards to compensate. Raul Julia as M Bison in Streetfighter, though... dying of cancer and a great character actor's last hurrah is that POS...

  • RandomTerrain #22 3 years ago

    I really enjoyed Water World.
    And I thought the Mario movie was fun as well. Nothing special, but I watched it a couple of times.

  • jimbob101 #23 3 years ago

    I actually read the book ataptation of the film. I was on holiday with nothing else to read.