Director: Mark Jones
Screenplay: Mark Jones
Starring: Warwick Davis, Jennifer Aniston, Ken Olandt, Mark Holton, Robert Hy Gorman, Shay Duffin
Country: USA
Running Time: 92 min
Year: 1992
Hollywood loves Jennifer Aniston. Of course, she is most well known for her work as Rachel in Friends, the hit 90s sitcom that followed six New Yorkers in their 30s during the mid-90s and mid-00s. While, she continued her career in movies, mostly in the romantic comedy genre. However, it’s her first movie that stands out from the crowd and we’re not sure you have heard of it. So in this article, we’re going to delve into the story of the 1993 comedy-horror, Leprechaun.
Firstly, a movie based solely on leprechauns may seem odd; however, they have been appearing in Hollywood and the wider entertainment industry for years. These days, it’s still common to see them on screens or in games. For example, The Simpsons regularly portray Leprechauns as small, green creatures dressed in green in their Irish-themed episodes. While in the iGaming industry, games such as rainbow riches slots contain leprechauns as well as other items associated with them like pots of gold and rainbows allowing gamers to gamble in an Irish-themed environment. Meanwhile, the WWE even created a wrestling character called Hornswaggle in the mid-2000s.
The film follows a leprechaun out for revenge, believing that a family has stolen his pot of gold. Initially a horror, the main lead, Warwick Davis, added some comedy to the role during shooting while Aniston plays Tory Redding. She is the daughter of J.D. Redding, the main character pursued by Davis’ character. Containing all the iconography you would expect of a Hollywood movie about leprechauns, like coins, gold, and clovers, the story ends with the leprechaun vowing to continue his search for the gold.
In the years since, Aniston has claimed she is embarrassed by the role and her character in it, while some critics have said it’s the worst movie of her career. Mark Jones, the director, has since said he had to fight the film company to include her as they preferred someone with lighter hair. In the end, he got his way, and Aniston shined. However, she rejected the chance to act in any sequels, preferring to leave it at that when it came to Leprechaun movies.
On release, critics weren’t kind to Leprechaun, as its Rotten Tomatoes rating of just 35% will attest. However, it performed fairly well at the box office and on video, gaining a cult following, which led to Leprechaun 2 and further movies in the following years. The latest was created in 2014 and is titled Leprechaun: Origins.
Aniston has left behind a disappointing start to her acting career. She is now said to be worth over $300 million, and her movies have taken in over $1 billion in revenue. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as several Emmys and Golden Globes, while she also runs her own successful production company. Whether she ever envisioned this success while filming Leprechaun is only a question that she could answer.
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