From his numerous roles in the Star Trek franchise to playing William Bludworth in the Final Destination franchise, Tony Todd has performed in a wide variety of projects over more than three decades. However, he’s still arguably best known for playing Candyman in the same-named 1992 film and its sequels, and it turns out that Todd collected a lot of extra money working on that first movie just by getting stung by bees. Todd recalled:
I negotiated a bonus of $1,000 for every sting during the bee scene. And I got stung 23 times. Everything that’s worth making has to involve some sort of pain. Once I realized it was an important part of who Candyman was, I embraced it. It was like putting on a beautiful coat.
No one likes getting stung by bees, but if you’re acting in something where there’s the risk of that happening, why not get some compensation for your trouble? That’s just what Tony Todd did for Candyman, and it resulted in him receiving $23,000 on top of what he was already earning. I doubt the production could have afforded giving such a bonus to all the main actors, but Todd was the only one of that bunch who needed to perform amongst those insects.
In case you’ve never seen Candyman, the eponymous entity was originally the son of a slave who became wealthy after the American Civil War making shoes. Becoming a well-known artist, this man fell in love with a white woman and had a child with her, and when her father found out about it, he sent a lynch mob after the man.
The mob proceeded to cut off the man’s hand and replace it with a hook, and then slather with honey, which resulted in a swam of bees stinging him to death. But his spirit lived on, and as Candyman, he kills anyone who dares summon him by saying his name in front of a mirror five times.
Tony Todd also informed The Guardian that of the 200 movies he’s done, Candyman is the one “stays in people’s minds,” affecting people of all races. Granted, the latter two Candyman movies, Farewell to the Flesh and Day of the Dead, weren’t nearly as well received, but the original remains a classic, and it’s nice to hear that Todd successfully negotiated being properly compensated for having to deal with those bees.
It’s been 20 years since Tony Todd last played Candyman, but the actor’s time in the franchise isn’t done yet. Todd revealed last month that producer Jordan Peele called him about taking part in the next Candyman movie, which is also simply titled Candyman and serving as a “spiritual sequel” to the original.
While it was initially reported that Aquaman actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen would play the new Candyman, director Nia DaCosta later said this wasn’t the case. It’s since been rumored that Tony Todd will reprise Candyman once more, further indicating this new Candyman movie isn’t a straightforward reboot. If Beale Street Could Talk’s Teyonah Parris is also attached to the cast, and it was rumored at the beginning of the year that Atlanta’s Lakeith Stanfield will be involved too.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on Candyman, and in the meantime, check out our 2019 release schedule to learn what movies are coming out later this year.
