The Wolfpack can hardly remember where they left the groom, but not their exploits making the most successful R-rated comedy series in history.
With less than a month to go before The Hangover Part III hits theaters on May 24, castmembers Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and director Todd Phillips, among others, sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to provide an oral history of the franchise, which has grossed over a $1 billion at the box office.
Here's a roundup of some of the conversation's most memorable tidbits, including how Lindsay Lohan and Jake Gyllenhaal nearly ended up in the movie:
1. On the Possibility of Casting LiLo: Phillips revealed he met with Lohan for the part of the stripper that would eventually be played by Heather Graham, but ultimately it was her young age (she was 22 at the time) that was the reason he didn't hire her.
"Honestly, it felt like she ended up being too young for what we were talking about," said the helmer. "People love to attack her for everything, like, 'Ha, she didn't see how great The Hangover was going to be. She turned it down.' She didn't turn it down. She loved the script, actually. It really was an age thing."
As for Gyllenhaal, before he tapped Galifianakis for the role of Alan, the brother-in-law of Doug the groom (Justin Bartha) in the 2009 original, Phillips was considering a whole different idea—and actors—altogether for the character.
"Quite honestly, we were writing the brother-in-law as a younger brother they had to take along with them—like a Jonah Hill character instead of Zach [Jake Gyllenhaal also was considered]. Then we thought it'd be so much more awkward if it was an older brother who's still at home."
2. Bradley Cooper on the Evolution of His Character, Phil: "The characters were different in the original script. I was a used-car salesman. There wasn't a Mr. Chow. I mean, Todd created everything," said the thesp.
3. On Mike Tyson's Hilarious Cameo: Phillips and cowriter Jeremy Garelick hatched the idea of bringing in Iron Mike after thinking, "What would be the craziest thing you could wake up to?"
"A tiger? Well, why would a tiger be there? Siegfried & Roy? Nah, that feels typical. Oh, you know what's funny? Mike Tyson. I once read he has tigers. They stole it from Mike Tyson," said the filmmaker.
Little did they know Tyson was still struggling with drugs at the time of filming.
"Somebody had told me something about a movie, but I wasn't coherent as to what he was talking about. They made it sound like it was low-budget, not a serious movie," added the former boxing champ.
4. Ed Helms' on That Missing Tooth: The Office star confessed he ended up having a dentist remove an implant he got when he was 15 so that missing tooth you see in the film isn't a CGI effect, it's the real deal.
"I talked to my dentist and he said, 'Yeah, we can take it out,'" said the funnyman. "He was a champ. He's in the credits."
5. Ken Jeong on His Famous Naked Scene: "Bradley volunteered for me to jump on him. My genitals and Bradley's neck are very good friends."