Eminem's "Stan" Actor Devon Sawa Still Stanning The Rapper 18 Years Later

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Eminem accepts the award for Best Video From A Film during the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on August 28, 2003 in New York City.
It's been 18 years since Devon Sawa played "Stan" in one of Eminem's most iconic music videos.

Eminem has been extremely active in the public eye for the past 12 months. He released two albums -- Revival and Kamikaze -- which were both met with heavy criticism. However, fans still reminisce about Em's glory days in the early 2000s. Today marks the 18-year anniversary of his music video for "Stan" -- arguably one of the best visuals in his catalog. In a recent interview with the actor who played Stan, he revealed that the role is something that he still brags about to this day.

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Devon Sawa, who played the titular character in Eminem's "Stan," spoke to Vice about the 18-year anniversary of the music video. Sawa has starred in films like Final Destination, Idle Hands and Casper, but his role in Em's video is still something he's extremely proud about.

"Whenever somebody asks me what I've done, it's still the one from back then that I'll be like 'Oh, I was in an Eminem video.' It was iconic, Dr. Dre directed it, Eminem was there and it was early days," he said. "I’m just so proud to say I played some small part of it."

Although many people recognize him due to his role in the video, the actor admitted that his agent and team advised him against it.

"When I did Stan, my agent who I'm still with to this very day advised against it," he said. "Nobody was really on board with doing it on my team, and I was the only one who was like 'Oh my god, this guy’s really, really good.' So I did it anyways."

His love for Em hasn't changed since they shot the music video. Sawa admitted that among some of his favorite projects of the year is Kamikaze.

"I like anything Kendrick Lamar puts out, I liked Lil Wayne's CD this year," he said. "But I think Eminem's is the greatest that came out this year. I might be biased, but I loved it."

 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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