Why Adam Sandler Got Julia Fox's Character's Name Changed in 'Uncut Gems' (Exclusive)

In Adam Sandler's new crime drama Uncut Gems, the comedian is making another rare foray into dramatic territory playing a charismatic New York City jeweler and gambling addict who gets in over his head with the wrong people.

Directed by Josh and Benny Safdie -- the directing duo behind Robert Pattinson's acclaimed 2017 crime drama Good Time -- Uncut Gems sees Sandler in a much darker, grimier role than he's known for, playing a character with a wife, Dinah (Idina Menzal), as well as a girlfriend on the side.

Sandler walked the carpet at the star-studded premiere of Uncut Gems at the Arclight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood on Wednesday, and opened up to ET's Lauren Zima about how this project is less family friendly than most of his more recent work.

"[There's] some dirty stuff, yes. I was filthy in this movie," Sandler said. "And yes, it doesn't look great, but it's a good movie."

It seems that one particularly "filthy" element of the film involves the relationship between Sandler's character, Howard Ratner, and his mistress, Julia -- which, it turns out, wasn't the character's original name.

ET also spoke with Julia Fox -- who plays Julia in the film -- at the premiere, and it turns out that the only thing Sandler balked at in the script was her character's original name.

"My character's name was originally supposed to be Sadie," Fox explained. "But that's his daughter's name, so he actually had it switched for that to make it easier on the girls."

Sandler shares two daughters with his wife, Jackie -- 13-year-old Sadie and 11-year-old Sunny -- and he confirmed the anecdote about having the filmmakers change the name of Fox's character.

"That's my daughter's name!" Sandler said. "And I said, 'You can't have my daughter's name in this movie.'"

Although his daughter might not have even known, considering the fact that the actor really doesn't want his kids watching this particular film any time soon.

"My wife can handle it all. My wife encouraged me to do the movie," Sandler said. "[As for] my kids, I said I don't want them to see this until maybe 60 or 70."

However, for those who have seen it, Sandler's performance in the gritty drama is getting a lot of praise, and quite a bit of awards season buzz. 

"It's nice. Honestly, I love the movie. I love those Safdie brothers, and when it gets praise from other people, I'm very happy for the boys, I'm very happy for everybody," Sandler shared. "When I saw it alone in the room I was like, 'Oh, I love this thing!' So that's the good news. I know it's a good movie."

Uncut Gems hits theaters Dec. 25.

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