Paul Wight Says He Landed Captain Insano Role ‘By Accident,’ Thought Jim Duggan Would Get It

Paul Wight recently recounted the story of how he got the role of Captain Insano in The Waterboy, which he said happened “by accident.” Wight played the role of the pro wrestler that Adam Sandler’s titular character looked up to in the 1998 football comedy, a short but memorable appearance that he even reprised on AEW TV in 2024.

Wight spoke about the audition for the role in his appearance on Going Ringside. He recalled how he initially didn’t intend to audition because he thought Jim Duggan would be getting the role. You can see the highlights below:

On Thinking Jim Duggan Would Get The Role:

“I got that purely by accident. Yeah, they were doing reads for it in Orlando at Disney. We were doing a WCW Worldwide taping then, I think. And I heard that Jim Duggan had read for it, because it was on the board. He read for Captain Insano. The entire locker room read for it, because they were reading all the wrestlers and it was an open casting call. And they were — their studio was right next door to where we were posted up. And I was like, ‘Oh, Duggan read for it? Yeah, he’ll probably get it.’ Because I just thought, ‘Captain Insano, crazy personality, Jim Duggan’d be great.’ So, that was that. I didn’t pursue it anymore.”

On How He Ended Up Auditioning:

“In that same building was where the restrooms were. And I cut in there to go to the restroom, and that casting lady was in the hall. She says, ‘Who are you?’ And I went, ‘I’m Paul White, I’m the Giant.’ She goes, ‘You haven’t read for me.’ I said, ‘No, ma’am.’ I said, ‘One of the other guys read.’ She says, ‘Everybody’s read. Will you please read for me?’

“I was not prepared at all. So I just looked at the — you know, I went in there, I looked at the script, and I just said, ‘Well, I’ll just rip off Hulk.’ Because that’s what I knew at the time. So, I went in and did Captain Insano in a Hulk Hogan voice and really didn’t think two seconds about it. There wasn’t any deep prep or any of that kind of stuff. And then she says, ‘Oh, congratulations, Captain Insano.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ I still didn’t understand. ‘Wait, does this mean I got the part?’ And I think like two weeks later, I went back to Orlando and we filmed our scene.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Going Ringside with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.