Robert Downey Jr.'s bad-boy ways have caught up with him, while Tom Sizemore is racing to stay ahead of the warden.
Downey, an Industry darling who has continued to work despite his very public drug problems, has been dropped from Woody Allen's next flick because he was too expensive to insure.
Allen is reportedly in talks with Jason Biggs to replace Downey in what would have been an all-con cast, with Winona Ryder costarring. Biggs stars opposite Christina Ricci and Allen in the writer-director's upcoming romantic comedy Anything Else, which hits theaters Sept. 19.
According to Variety, Downey and Fox Searchlight were unable to come to an agreement on who would pay the hefty insurance premium required because of Downey's past problems with drugs. It wasn't until Downey took and passed a physical for the film that he found out about the prohibitive insurance cost.
Downey's rep would not comment on the casting hiccup.
Extra insurance was also required on the set of the thesp's two upcoming flicks, The Singing Detective, opposite former Air America costar Mel Gibson, and Gothika, costarring Halle Berry. However, the producers were willing to cover the costs.
Others who've bent over backward to accommodate Downey, who was first arrested for cocaine possession during a routine traffic stop in 1996, include Ally McBeal creator David E. Kelley. It took two arrests before Downey lost his job as Ally's love interest. The axe finally fell after Downey was busted in a Culver City alley in Apr. 2001 on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance--charges weren't filed.
Downey was also sprung from rehab for a day at Elton John's request to star in the Rocket Man's "I Want Love" music video in Aug. 2001. The recovering addict spent a day at the Greystone Manor in Beverly Hills, where he lip-synched the tune from John's album Songs from the West Coast for director Sam Taylor-Wood.
On the flip side, Sizemore is squeezing in as many roles as possible before he's sentenced to a possible jail term in October.
On Aug. 15, the Black Hawk Down star was found guilty of seven counts of domestic violence, criminal threats and vandalism against his former gal-pal Heidi Fleiss, as well making obscene and harassing phone calls. He remains free on $100,000 bail. Sizemore, 41, faces up to four years in jail, plus fines.
In the meantime, the embattled actor is keeping busy with roles in at least two indie dramas. First up, a role as a thuggish father in Morgan J. Freeman's Piggy Banks, which began production in Salt Lake City on Monday.
Then next month, Sizemore stars in the Asia Argento-helmed adaptation The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things. Based on the novel by J.T. LeRoy, The Heart features Argento as a single mom and prostitute and Sizemore as one of her boyfriends.
Sizemore's most recent gig, the CBS series Robbery Homicide Division, ended in December just after the actor was arrested for allegedly punching a woman in the face. (A trial in that case is pending.)
However, the show seemed destined for the scrap heap even before the incident, with an average 7.1 million viewers for last season against NBC's juggernaut Law & Order: SVU.