“Fast Times at Ridgemont High” Director Reveals the Moment She Knew Sean Penn Was Going to Be ‘Somebody’

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• Amy Heckerling recalls Sean Penn’s dedication to his role as Jeff Spicoli, including wardrobe suggestions like checkered Vans

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• Penn’s surfing background and familiarity with beach culture helped him bring authenticity to the character

• Heckerling says Penn’s performance drew attention from Hollywood agents and executives during filming

Fast Times at Ridgemont High director Amy Heckerling is remembering her work with Sean Penn early in his career.

On The Hollywood Reporter‘s podcast, It Happened in Hollywood, Heckerling, 71, reflected on her 1982 feature directorial debut and remembered her first impression of Penn, who was just getting his footing as an actor.

Before he was officially cast for the role of Jeff Spicoli, a surfer who is often stoned, Heckerling met the young actor in an office ahead of his read for the role, where she found him sitting on the floor.

“I looked down and he looked up and I was like — well, certain people, it just goes through you. ‘Whoa. That’s somebody,’ ” Heckerling said.

From there, she said Penn, now 65, invested in the role, sending recommendations for wardrobe and bringing authenticity from his own surfing experience.

“He got more and more and more Spicoli as it went on, as the other actors came in, and as the costume working was done, and one day he’d send me these checkered Vans, like, what do you think? I go, yeah. He was just there,” she recounted. “Also, he surfs. He grew up in the beach area, and he knows those people, and he knows the language, and he brought such great vocabulary to the role.”

Heckerling said it wasn’t long before Penn’s acting was noticed by others in Hollywood. “Everyday that he was shooting, every agent in town and every executive was coming to the set,” she said.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a coming-of-age film following a cast of students navigating dating and part-time jobs. While Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Mark Ratner (Brian Backer), Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates) and Mike Damone (Robert Romanus) focused on their relationship woes, Penn’s character faces off against his history teacher, Mr. Hand (Ray Walston), who is trying to get the stoner to take his studies more seriously.

The pair’s on-screen feud was allegedly further fueled by their creative differences, as Heckerling revealed that Penn would “ad lib” many of the insults his character hurled at the teacher.

“Sean would just ad lib all these nasty things about him… And then [Walston] pulls me and says, ‘You tell that young man I do not need his help,’ ” she recalled. “Their ways of working were, let’s say, different.”

The project was one of Penn’s earliest film appearances — and one of the film’s more memorable roles. It also marked the feature film debut of stars Nicolas Cage and Eric Stoltz. The project was a box-office success, ultimately grossing more than $50 million.

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“Years later, I told him — he’d been doing all these really heavy movies, and I’d say, if you just smile, you’ll get an Oscar. Your smile just blows everyone away,” Heckerling said. “And then Milk, where he was a very lovable character… I was like, no. You can’t kill Spicoli. I think he’s always that kid.”

Fast Times at Ridgemont High ended up being a jumping off point for Penn’s career. He has gone on to win three Academy Awards — one for his leading role in Milk, and most recently for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Stephen J. Lockjaw in Best Picture-winner One Battle After Another.

“These horrible things happen to him in movies. But One Battle After Another was just like, I bust a gut watching him. He was so hilarious,” she said.

Read the original article on People