Nearly two decades after starring in the video for Eminem’s «Stan,» Devon Sawa still loves the Detroit rapper and his music.<\/b>
\nNearly two decades after starring in the music video for Eminem \u2019s song \u201cStan,\u201d Devon Sawa still stans for the rapper.
The Canadian actor talked to Vice about starring in the video 18 years ago and the unexpected contribution it made to online discourse.
In the video, Sawa, now 40, plays an overzealous Eminem fan named Stan who, after having his numerous letters ignored by the rapper, drives his car into a river killing himself and his pregnant girlfriend.
In the years since the video\u2019s release, \u201cstan\u201d has become online shorthand for obsessive fans and obsessive fan behavior (e.g. \u201cI stan for Eminem. And anyone who doesn\u2019t should die.\u201d), its usage now so widespread that it has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
\u201cI\u2019ve known what it meant since people started using it,\u201d the actor said. \u201cMy brother was the first one who sent me the article when it was added to the Oxford English dictionary.\u201d
Then, while talking about his favorite rap albums of the year, Sawa revealed he\u2019s still a huge fan of Eminem.
\u201cThis particular year, I mean Eminem\u2019s new record coincidentally was phenomenal,\u201d he said of the rapper\u2019s album \u201cKamikaze.\u201d \u201cI like anything Kendrick Lamar puts out, I liked Lil Wayne\u2019s CD this year. I\u2019m still into old hip-hop, all the greats\u2014Nas, Biggie, Pac, Jay Z, KRS-One. But I think Eminem\u2019s is the greatest that came out this year. I might be biased, but I loved it.\u201d
He also explained that it was his love of Eminem\u2019s music that pushed him to do the video against the wishes of his own agent.
\u201cWhen I did Stan, my agent who I\u2019m still with to this very day advised against it. It was like \u2018Eminem? C\u2019mon Dev, I dunno about doing a music video.’\u201d Nobody was really on board with doing it on my team, and I was the only one who was like, \u2018Oh my god, this guy\u2019s really, really good.\u2019 So I did it anyways.\u201d
In addition to the video for \u201cStan,\u201d Sawa also appeared in movies like \u201cLittle Giants,\u201d \u201cCasper\u201d and \u201cFinal Destination.\u201d<\/p>\n