Stephen King's miniseries adaptation of The Shining holds a strange, unique place in pop culture history. It's a work that will forever sit in the shadow of one of the greatest films ever made, being based on the same novel as Stanley Kubrick's iconic movie, but it's nonetheless appreciated by King fans as a faithful, well-made take on the author's beloved book. One of the standout qualities is the performance by Steven Weber, who hits on certain emotional levels as Jack Torrance not found in the Jack Nicholson version – though the actor himself wishes he could go back and change aspects of his performance.
Weber was recently a guest on Michael Rosenbaum's Inside Of You podcast, and he spoke at length about his work on The Shining and his relationship with the stories of Stephen King. Acknowledging the "descent into madness" qualities of the Jack Torrance role, the host asked the actor if it was a "taxing" experience playing the character, and it was in his response that Weber expressed some regret:
I really wish I could go back with what I know now about myself and what it's like to be a flawed human being and attack those scenes again. It wasn't taxing; I was having too much fun. I was too excited to be there. And it's good! It's more than good. The King faithful prefer it to Kubrick's film, but the Kubrick film is obviously this iconic, fantastic... it's a great movie. It's not Stephen King's movie.
Directed by Mick Garris and written by Stephen King himself, The Shining miniseries first aired on ABC back in 1997, and it was specifically made to hone closer to the source material than Stanley Kubrick's adaptation. Production even took place at The Stanley in Estes Park, Colorado, which was the hotel that first provided the author inspiration to write the novel. Weber enjoyed his experience in the Rocky Mountains, but he would evidently argue that he enjoyed the experience too much.
Steven Weber spoke to the differences between the miniseries and the film, and he addressed the dissatisfaction that Stephen King has expressed about Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. For one thing, Jack Torrance's alcoholism is much more front and center with the TV version of the character, and that was pretty important considering that's in many ways what the entire story is about. Said Weber,
[Stephen King] was philosophical about it. He was ultimately disappointed that a filmmaker like Kubrick kind of bowdlerized King's work. It was, in effect, Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining as opposed to Stephen King's Shining... It's fantastic, because ultimately as scary and fantastical as [the novel] is, you can see that it's about alcoholism. It's about the dissolution of a family. It's about redemption. It's about all the things you don't associate with monsters or Stephen King. And the books or the stories that I've read of his are almost all about that.
It's worth noting that the world of Stephen King is one in which Steven Weber is well-versed. In addition to The Shining, the actor also starred in 2006's miniseries adaptation of Desperation and the finale of the cancelled-too-soon anthology series Nightmares & Dreamscapes. He made his directorial debut with an episode of The Outer Limits reboot from the 1990s based on the short story "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson," and his audiobook reading of IT is phenomenal.
The Shining miniseries presently isn't available to stream on any subscription service or digital platform, but those inclined to watch can always pick up a copy of the DVD. To stay up to date with all of the latest adaptations of Stephen King's works, check out our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide, and read about the best of the best adaptations with our Stephen King Movies Ranking and Stephen King TV Projects Ranking.
