Before Donald Trump even became a POTUS candidate, he was cast to play the president in the 2015 film Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Ian Ziering, who stars in the franchise’s films, had developed a relationship with Trump during an appearance on Celebrity Apprentice and figured The Donald would make a good commander in chief on screen.
And Trump was 100 percent on board. From The Hollywood Reporter:
“The Donald said yes,” recalls David Latt, the 51-year-old co-founder of The Asylum, the off-brand assembly line behind the Sharknado series. “He was thrilled to be asked.”
The negotiations went far and Trump received a contract. But in a twist, Trump decided to make a “legitimate run for the presidency.” (Two years later, we’ve seen how that turned out.) He stalled on the Sharknado creators while he prepared his campaign. Rather than wait for Trump, The Asylum went for its backup plan and cast Mark Cuban in the presidential role. That sent Trump into a fury:
But enthusiasm turned into weeks of silence from the Trump camp. Eventually, a reason for the stalling emerged. “Donald’s thinking about making a legitimate run for the presidency, so we’ll get back to you,” Latt recalls Cohen saying. “This might not be the best time.” With the production clock ticking, Asylum pulled the trigger on a backup plan, offering the role to Mark Cuban — a modest casting coup that Syfy trumpeted with a press release.
“Then we immediately heard from Trump’s lawyer,” recalls Latt. “He basically said, ‘How dare you? Donald wanted to do this. We’re going to sue you! We’re going to shut the entire show down!’ ” Contacted by THR, Cohen acknowledges a dinner with Ziering to discuss casting Trump but says he has no recollection of the angry correspondence.
Trump wasn’t the first choice, though. That honor goes to former Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, but negotiations broke down. Sharknado 3 had to settle for former congressman Anthony Wiener and former Minnesota representative Michele Bachmann as its political cameos.
