Freddie Prinze Jr’s ‘psychotic’ experience on set of cult ’90s film

Freddie Prinze Jr has lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes feud that plagued the set of 1998 blockbuster I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Freddie Prinze Jr has shared details of his terrible experience filming I Know What You Did Last Summer.

I Know What You Did Last Summer is one of the defining horror blockbusters of the ’90s.

It spun off a successful sequel in 1998 (I Still Know What You Did Last Summer), a less successful direct-to-DVD sequel in 2006 (I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer), a TV reboot on Amazon Prime in 2021 (also titled I Know What You Did Last Summer), and a proposed fourth film. But not everyone has fond memories about the movie.

Actor Freddie Prinze Jr, 47, recently opened up about his experiences working on the set of the original 1997 movie with director Jim Gillespie.

According to the actor, Gillespie was “very direct” about not wanting him for the role. He claimed Gillespie wanted to cast Jeremy Sisto as character Ray Bronson instead, but the studio and screenwriter Kevin Williamson pushed for him.

“He was very direct in the fact that, ‘I don’t want you in this movie.’ So when that’s your first job and you hear those words, it just wrecks you, man. It just wrecks you,” Prinze Jr told Too Fab.

Freddie Prinze Jr did not enjoy his time on set. Picture: Vincent Sandoval/Getty Images

He described feeling singled out when the director would give the other actors notes except for him.

“I’m like, well was he just trying to do some method crap? I just don’t understand,” Prinze Jr said.

When the actor did receive notes from Gillespie, he said they were “psychotic” – like telling him, “Don’t leave your mouth open [because] you look stupid when you do that.”

This isn’t the first time the star has spoken publicly about his time working with Gillespie. In a separate interview he gave in January, he recalled a “really bad experience” while filming a stunt on set.

“There was a stunt where they, to save money, sent the stunt crew home,” Prinze Jr said. He explained that he was expected to drive a dinghy with an outboard motor. When he asked if Freddie Hice, the stunt co-ordinator, approved of him doing the stunt, Gillespie said he did.

“We do the rehearsal and this boat is not safe to do this jump. I fly out of the boat and it goes right over my head, the outboard engine,” he said. “I don’t know how close it was but it felt like it was a millimetre away.

“And I get out of the water and I’m p**sed. And the director comes up to me and he goes, ‘You told me you know how to drive a speedboat!’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, I do. That’s not a speedboat, it’s a dinghy with an outboard motor. You’re mad at me?’”

Prinze Jr. played Ray alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt as Julie. Picture: Supplied

He claims Gillespie said they would have to film it again, which he refused. It turned out Hice was not even be on set while they were filming.

“I can laugh about it now. At the time I was, and rightfully so, p**sed off,” he said.

Prinze Jr, who is married to ’90s Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar, went on to say he had the “exact opposite experience” working on the sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer with director Danny Cannon.

The franchise will be coming back with another instalment, which is still in early development. Prinze Jr and Jennifer Love Hewitt are reportedly in talks to return for the reboot, though he says he hasn’t received an offer for the film yet.

The movie will be directed by Do Revenge director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson.

This article originally appeared in Decider and was republished with permission

Originally published as Freddie Prinze Jr’s ‘psychotic’ experience on set of cult ’90s film