Devon Sawahas been a well-known actor for three decades, first coming to prominence inLittle Giants, then playing the human version of the titular ghost inCasper. In 1999, however, with the wacky horror-comedyIdle Hands, Sawa started his run as a modern horror icon. That became cemented a year later with his lead role in the genre-changingFinal Destination, and now his multiple roles in the wacky TV seriesChucky,based on the killer doll from the Child’s Play franchise.Sawa’s characters have failed to escape death, not just inFinal Destination, but inChuckyas well, wherehe has perished several times as multiple people. Nothing, however, will top Devon Sawa’s death in arguably his most attention-getting role. In 2000, Sawa acted inEminem’s music video for his song “Stan,” featuring Dido. He’s only on screen for a few minutes, and we never hear his voice, but his death at the end is unforgettably chilling.
After a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, an idyllic American town is thrown into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begin to expose the town’s hypocrisies and secrets.
Devon Sawa Has Died Many Times on Screen
Devon Sawa loves to play a character who meets their untimely end. This technically started back inCasperwhen Sawa was just 17. Although we don’t see Sawa’s iteration of Casper die, he plays the human version of theCGI cartoon ghostwho died as a young boy of pneumonia.In 1999, Sawa was the lead inIdle Handsas Anton, a stoner whose possessed hand turns him into a killer. Sawa survivedIdle Hands, but he couldn’t say the same forFinal Destination. This teen-led horror film came out at the perfect time, astheScreamera slasher pool was drying upand audiences craved something new. So how about a genre film where the invisible force of death is the killer? When Sawa’s Alex Browning has a vision that the plane he’s on is going to explode, he and his friends leave before it can take off. When the plane does explode, death comes around to collect the souls who got away. Alex actually survives that first film, only to be killed off-screen withhis death mentioned inFinal Destination 2.
Since his run onChuckybegan, Sawa’s death count as a character has shot up.Sawa has been onChuckysince Season 1, but repeatedly as a different character who dies at the small plastic hands of Charles Lee Ray. In Season 1, Sawa had the dual roles of twin brothers Lucas and Logan Wheeler. Lucas dies by electrocution and Logan gets beaten to death with the doll by his own son. In Season 2, as Father Bryce, Sawa’s whole body explodes after Chucky’s soul enters it during an exorcism. In Season 3, Sawa got to play the President of the United States, James Collins, only to have his eyes ripped out by the killer doll, whothen uses them to unlock nukes that strike the North Pole. Still, Sawa came back again, this time as the President’s body double, Randall Jenkins, who was last seen drowning in a blood-filled elevator.
Devon Sawa Wasn’t the First Choice for Eminem’s “Stan” Music Video
Chuckyis silly, over-the-top fun not meant to be taken seriously. The same can sometimes be said of Marshall Mathers,known to rap fans as Eminem. He first hit it big in 1999 and 2000 with funnier songs and videos like “My Name Is” and “The Real Slim Shady,” but his third single fromThe Marshall Mathers LPshowed Eminem’s serious side. Using a sample from “Thank You” byDido,“Stan” tells the story of an obsessed fan named Stan, a play on the words stalker and fan.And Stan is just that, a fan of Eminem, but one who is so obsessed with the rap star that the lack of a response from his idol is driving him insane.
It’s a song that’s even more powerful thanks to its video, which stars Sawa as Stan in the days after his star power had risen thanks to the popularity ofFinal Destination,which made nearly $113 worldwide. In an interview withEntertainment Tonight, Sawa told the story of how he got the gig and the shocking star that was originally wanted. He said thatHome AlonestarMacaulay Culkinwas actually offered the rule first, but he either didn’t want to do it or wasn’t available. Sawa added:
“Then Dre, who had just seenFinal Destinationand was a fan, suggested [me]. There happened to be somebody in the casting office that knew somebody who was friends with me, and they called me that way… and it ended up working out pretty good.”
Devon Sawa Claims He Wasn’t Paid for His ‘Final Destination 5’ Cameo
The actor appeared in the sequel via old footage.
Sawa told Entertainment Tonight that the “Stan” music video is one of the proudest things he’s been a part of. Sawa was undoubtedly the right choice for the part. While Macaulay Culkin would have created a lot of headlines and attention for the video in the beginning, his star power would have also hindered the message of “Stan.” Rather than taking the message of the song seriously, we would have been stunned at seeing Culkin all grown up, who had largely dropped out of the public eye a few years after becoming the most famous kid on the planet. Sawa, however, was just famous enough at the time to get your attention, but enough of a chameleon to disappear into the role.
Eminem’s “Stan” Shows How Badly Celebrity Fandom Can Go
Sawa doesn’t speak in “Stan” apart from in the longer version where he dyes his hair blonde and gets mad at Dido for calling him Stanley. Instead,Sawa only lip-synches Eminem’s lyrics, which makes his performance all the more challenging. Unable to use his voice, he had to convey his intense emotions and despair through his facial expressions, mannerisms, and body language. Stan writes letter after letter to the man he’s trying to look and act like. He calls himself Eminem’s biggest fan, starting off by simply chatting about his life. However, as he gets no response from the rapper, we see the just-held-together rage on his face as he writes Eminem again, the pencil moving across the page now at a more frantic pace. The letter ends with, “P.S. We should be together too.”
After this letter also goes unanswered,Stan abducts his pregnant girlfriend, puts her in the trunk of his car, and while driving at a high rate of speed on a rainy highway at night, he rages at Eminem into a tape recorder. Consumed by the anger at not being heard and noticed, Stan drives the car off the cliff to his and Dido’s deaths, but not before he tries to change his mind at the last second when he realizes he can’t mail out the tape if he’s dead. Eminem eventually gets those letters and writes Stan back, but it’s too late. We see Stan’s car being pulled out of the river and the realization from Eminem that Stan is the perpetrator in the murder-suicide.story he heard about.
“Stan” is not an exaggeration of a song or music video. Toxic fandom does exist, whether it be movies, TV, music, sports, or even professional wrestling. In 2020, a male fan of female WWE wrestlerSonya Devillewas so obsessed with the superstar that he sent her dozens of messages about how they should be together.When she didn’t respond, he broke into her home and tried to abduct her. Thankfully, he failed, but with some younger people feeling more alone and detached due to social media, it’s a problem that still exists. Devon Sawa’s deaths might make us cringe onChucky, but in Eminem’s “Stan,” the pain etched on his face before he takes the lives of his girlfriend, his unborn child, and himself is more horrifying than any amount of fake blood and gore.
