In Matthew Bright's notorious 2003 drama "Tiptoes," Kate Beckinsale plays a lovelorn young woman named Carol who falls for a dashing young painter named Steven, played by Matthew McConaughey. When Carol gets pregnant with their child, Steven reveals that dwarfism runs in his family, and that all of his family members are little people, including his twin brother Rolfe (Gary Oldman). The drama of the film surrounds Carol's and Steven's arguments about what it's like to raise a child with dwarfism.
Carol begins relying on Rolfe for advice on any struggles he may have faced.
One will immediately note that Oldman is not a little person actor. Rolfe's dwarfism was visually achieved by having the 5'9" actor walk on his knees. His elbows were also pinned back to make them appear shorter. It's perhaps the least accurate portrayal of a little person in cinema history, and "Tiptoes" has become widely notorious as a result. Some rightly describe it as offensive. It certainly didn't help that the original director's cut of the movie was intended to be 150 minutes long. A team of editors, luckily, fired Bright after he completed filming and shaved the marathon down to a more tolerable 90 minutes. The re-edit outraged Bright, a promising director and longtime Richard Elfman collaborator who had already helmed cult classics like "Freeway" and "Ted Bundy." He swore never to direct another movie again after the "Tiptoes" debacle. As of this writing, Bright has made good on that promise.
Oldman recently spoke on the "Happy. Sad. Confused." interview series, and he washed his hands of "Tiptoes." He revealed that he was hurting for cash at the time and took the role because it was a pretty good paycheck. After he was done, he didn't think much of the movie and never even bothered to watch it.
Read more: The 25 Best Hallmark Christmas Movies, Ranked
Gary Oldman Never Watched Tiptoes
Oldman recalls living in a rental in Hollywood at the time and that he was in dire financial straits. He had just separated from Donya Firoentino, his third wife, and money was tight. He had also left CAA, his agency, as he wasn't getting any work. There was a perfect storm of misfortune. As he described it:
"I had gone through a divorce and a nasty thing with a contract. And I was in Hollywood. I ended up in California, 42 years old, single dad, and I was broke. And ironically, I was living under the Hollywood sign, living in this rental. We had no furniture; thank God for Ikea. [...] It was a bit of a rough time. On top of that, I hadn't worked for 23 months or more. [...] I needed to pay some bills, I needed some money, and there was an actor's strike on top of it!"
As written, it was a tough time. Jobs were scarce, he needed money, and "Tiptoes" came along right at that moment.
"This crazy idea from this director that I would play a little person, and I would play Matthew McConaughey's brother. There were several things. First of all, I got locked into doing a voice like that, 'cause I had to sound like Matthew. That was that. And then I'm on my knees!"
Oldman then emitted a series of very embarrassed sounds, understanding that what he did was shameful, before pointing out that it was "desperate times." He asked himself if he would take on "Tiptoes" now, and he said no. He also noted, though, that his presence helped get "Tiptoes" greenlit, and admitted, with an embarrassed laugh, that it was his fault. At the very least, he said he got along swimmingly with his co-star, Peter Dinklage. But, wow, the McConaughey voice.
What Do People Think Of Tiptoes Today?
"Tiptoes" has become one of those notoriously bad movies that is passed around in cult movie circles with incredulous laughter. Yahoo! wrote a retrospective on the film in 2016, and revealed that Matthew Bright was present for the debut of the 90-minute cut of the movie, and that he got on stage to object to its editing. According to Yahoo!, he was bodily dragged from the stage. The retrospective also shared the kooky detail that Kate Beckinsale only agreed to appear in the movie if Bright allowed her to wear her lucky hat (!). Bright agreed, even if some of the producers hated her hat. It seems that the hat was one of the main reasons Bright was fired from the film.
"Tiptoes" also featured Peter Dinklage as a wild French Communist character, and Patricia Arquette as his fun-loving girlfriend. Dinklage has been very vocal about the treatment of little people in movies, recently speaking out against the very notion of making a "Snow White" movie in 2025. Dinklage, however, said that he didn't much mind Oldman playing a little person, just because he respected his co-star's talents. Dinklage said:
"There was some flak. 'Why would you put Gary Oldman on his knees? That's almost like blackface.' And I have my own opinions about political correctness, but I was just like, 'It's Gary Oldman. He can do whatever he wants.'"
In a 2012 New York Times interview, Dinklage defended "Tiptoes" ... but only the director's cut. The 90-minute version, he said, was little more than a standard romcom and wasn't very interesting. The director's cut, it should be noted, has never been released to the public. Meanwhile, bad movie podcasts like "How Did This Get Made?" continue to express outrage and bafflement at "Tiptoes," citing its offensive casting and bonkers script. New generations are still discovering how strange it is.
If you're looking for the easiest way to keep up with all the major movie and TV news, why not sign up to our free newsletter?
Read the original article on SlashFilm.
