Cory Michael Smith Only Let Himself Watch Chevy Chase for 2 Months Before Playing Him (Exclusive)

Cory Michael Smith intensely studied Chevy Chase earlier than starring in Saturday Evening.

The actor, 37, tells PEOPLE about how targeted he was on nailing his portrayal of Chase, now 81, for the upcoming film about Saturday Evening Dwell’s premiere in 1975.

After celebrating touchdown the function and realizing he can be portraying the comedy legend, he says “the phobia of the duty set in” and he “grew to become very compulsive with this.”

“I’ve liked Chevy Chase since I used to be a child. He is one among my favourite comedic actors. It was such an honor that I didn’t need to mess this up, and I did not need to mess my profession up. So I actually dove in, and for about two months I’d solely let myself watch Chevy Chase.”

Smith continues, “I simply was like, I’ve to understand how this man would say each line, what his physique and face can be doing instinctually and form of deprogram myself and my instincts from this, or else I’d really feel fraudulent the entire time, which simply wouldn’t be okay.”

Although Smith “did not have the privilege of speaking to Chevy” earlier than filming, he says Chase did see the movie.

“I do hope that he noticed a youthful model of himself, which possibly that is a joyful expertise or not. However this man performed such an enormous half in me desirous to be a performer and loving motion pictures, so it was an honor to play him.”

Elsewhere within the interview, Smith displays on the “intense” audition course of and the way portraying Chase was a “daunting thought.”

“I do not take into account myself somebody who does impressions essentially. So I used to be like, I do not suppose that is for me. I do not suppose I am the man that might do that, however I used to be like, let’s go for it.”

“It was in any other case a reasonably conventional course of, however the last was in New York Metropolis with [director Jason Reitman], in particular person doing bodily comedy, and it type of felt like theater nearly,” he provides.

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A synopsis for Saturday Evening teases: “At 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of younger comedians and writers modified tv — and tradition — without end.”

“Saturday Evening relies on the true story of what occurred behind the scenes within the 90 minutes main as much as the primary broadcast of Saturday Evening Dwell. Stuffed with humor, chaos and the magic of a revolution that nearly wasn’t, we depend down the minutes in actual time till we hear these well-known phrases….”

Together with Smith, the forged contains Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wooden, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys and J.Ok. Simmons.

Saturday Evening is in theaters now.