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William Hopper refused the role of Paul Drake when he auditioned for Perry Mason
"I had no intention of doing it," said Hopper.
To co-star in a hit series like Perry Mason is a great honor, although William Hopper didn't seem to see it that way when he first auditioned for the show. According to an interview with the Ledger-Star, Hopper had originally been looking to play the title character of the series. Alas, he lost out on the role to Raymond Burr. However, the show's higher-ups were so taken with him that they offered him a completely different role: Paul Drake. However, Hopper planned to refuse the offer.
In retrospect, Hopper understood what a mistake he came close to making.
"I had no intention of doing it and turned it down," said Hopper during an interview with the Ledger-Star. "I should have had my head examined, but I said no flatly. Then such a good deal was made I had to sign."
Of course, it only got better from there. In the end, Hopper was grateful that he didn't win the role of Perry. "It turned out just fine," said the actor. "Look at the job Ray is doing with Mason. I couldn't have done it."
In fact, Hopper found that a character like Paul Drake suited him better than he could have imagined. Not only did audiences adore him, but he enjoyed playing the second banana to an actor like Burr.
"I like playing pals with the star," said Hopper. "If this series ever stops I only hope I can find another series and be pals again. Let the stars do all the work."
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17 Comments
From the wording it seems like this interview took place when the series was still being filmed. My only request to the MeTV staff is that when they mention the interviewers, “said Hopper during an interview with the Ledger-Star”, that they also mention the date when the interview took place. It wouldn’t take up much space and would be very interesting.
It's the (Newark, NJ) Star-Ledger, not "Ledger-Star."
Crikey.
which could have been adapted.) Raymond Burr himself said during the original series he would like to do two-hour episodes to do justice to the novels. Instead all we got were bloated two-hour movies written by TV writers who were writing Matlock-type stories.
