Steve Martin ‘Was Weeping’ with John Candy in ‘Planes, Trains’ Scene

In his new documentary, Steve Martin remembers a very special costar.

STEVE! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces, which premieres on Apple TV+ today, covers everything from Martin’s bumpy rise to comedy superstardom to his life in and out of the spotlight now. One segment covers fond memories of the late John Candy, who starred with Martin in 1987’s Planes, Trains and Automobiles. 

“John Candy was very sensitive and very complex and we really loved each other,” recalls Martin in part two of the documentary project from Oscar winner Morgan Neville (of 20 Feet from Stardom).

Interspersed with scenes from Planes, Trains and Automobiles itself, Martin, 78, can be seen showing off items in his home storage facility, including scripts of the hit comedy film written and directed by John Hughes.

“He had a beautiful scene,” he says of the Canadian star while flipping through the screenplay, which he holds up to the camera. 

“I’m not gonna read the speech, but it’s that long,” explains Martin. As his character, shower curtain ring salesman Del Griffith, Candy “gives the entire explanation of his life. And I was opposite him. I was weeping as he was performing it.”

The emotional speech from Candy, while a lengthy monologue on the page, ended up as only Del saying little more than, “I don’t have a home.”

“It was all cut,” reveals the Three Amigos star. “I don’t know why it was cut except for tempo, and maybe you’re at the end and you don’t want to hear a long speech. It was cut down to a line or two.”

Martin gets visibly emotional remembering filming opposite Candy, trying to hold back tears before putting the movie’s script back on a shelf.

“There’s a line I loved,” he says to camera. Candy’s character “says, ‘I sort of attach myself to people from time to time, like with you, especially around the holidays. I can take it in March, July, October. But it gets hard.’

“And then he said, ‘This time, I couldn’t let it go.’”

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STEVE! (Martin) is made up of a part one titled “Then” and a part two titled “Now,” the former showing archival footage of early stand-up comedy days, the latter including interviews with Martin, Tina Fey, Eric Idle, Jerry Seinfeld, Frank Oz, Diane Keaton and longtime comedy partner Martin Short.

After recalling his time starring with Candy, Martin ponders his shelf of screenplays. “You pour your heart into these movies,” he says. “You’re thinking about it, you’re working hard, you’re doing it. Then two years later, it’s just another title on the video shelf, you know?”

In the documentary’s part two, Martin charts the ups and downs of his post-standup movie career leading up to his recent resurgence with the success of Only Murders in the Building, on which he stars with Short and Selena Gomez. 

Neville also includes snippets of an interview with Martin’s wife since 2007, Anne Stringfield. “The first time I saw true love in my life,” recalls Martin, was after their daughter was born in 2012. “She’s holding the baby and she’s looking into her face. And there was no one else on the planet.” 

STEVE! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces is streaming on Apple TV+ now.