5 facts about comedy classic Meet the Parents

Meet the Parents turned a simple family dinner into peak comedy chaos. The 2000 flick is fondly remembered as one of the best comedies since the turn of the millenium, and has created a franchise that continues to deliver laugh after laugh.

Here are five surprising behind-the-scenes facts you probably didn’t know about Meet the Parents …

1. Steven Spielberg was once lined up to direct Meet the Parents, but he ultimately left the project.

The Jurassic Park filmmaker later revealed his wife Kate Capshaw told him he wasn’t funny enough to helm the movie.

He recalled: “I was preparing to direct Meet the Parents when she read the script.

“She said, ‘You’re not directing this movie — give it to a director who does comedy well.’”

Meet the Parents eventually found its director in Jay Roach - the man behind the Austin Powers series.

2. Initially, Jim Carrey was attached to star in Meet the Parents, and had worked with Spielberg on the story.

However, The Mask actor had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts - allowing Ben Stiller to take the starring role of Greg Focker.

Carrey recounted: “I actually created the Fockers in a creative meeting. But, it was perfect that Ben Stiller did it.

“When I saw it, I went, ‘That’s the way it’s supposed to be done.’”

Meanwhile, Pam Byrnes was nearly played by Naomi Watts, though producers reportedly felt she wasn’t “sexy enough” for the role. As a result, Teri Polo was given the part, and went on to deliver one of her best-known performances in her career.

3. Robert De Niro became so fond of Mr. Jinx, the Byrnes family cat, that he lobbied for the pet to appear in more scenes.

Trainers said De Niro - who played Pamela’s father Jack Brynes in the movie - would slip kibble into his pockets to win the animal’s affection, often playing with him between takes. At one point, he even considered training the cat himself before realising it would “take up several months" of his life.”

4. Ever the method actor, Robert De Niro chose to keep his distance from Ben Stiller on set.

The deliberate aloofness mirrored Jack Byrnes’s frosty suspicion toward Greg Focker.

Stiller later admitted the tactic worked and said: “It was intimidating … you felt that sense of, ‘I don’t know if he likes me,’ which was exactly right for the character.”

The surname Focker wasn’t in the original film, though was introduced to the new version.

However, the MPAA feared it sounded obscene. To keep the joke, the studio proved Focker was a legitimate surname, and the movie kept its PG-13 rating.