iston . ” The actress insisted on wearing a brown wig for the role , wanting to look different from other characters she had played .   Colin Farrell as Bobby Pellitt   Described as a " weaselly scion " and a " corrupt and incompetent jerk who 's in charge of things but clearly has no idea what he 's doing . " Farrell explained the motivation he gave to the character , stating " This guy thinks he 's God 's gift to women , God 's gift to intellect , to humor , to the club scene , to everything . It 's all part of his grandiose sense of self @-@ esteem , which is probably masking a deeper sense of being a disappointment to his father and being riddled with envy over the relationship his father had with Kurt , and all kinds of other things . With Pellit , Seth gave me complete license to act as pathologically screwed up as possible . " Farrell contributed significantly to the appearance of his character , suggesting the comb over hairstyle , pot @-@ belly and an affinity for Chinese dragons .   Kevin Spacey as David Harken   President of Comnidyne Industries . Tom Cruise , Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jeff Bridges had been approached by New Line Cinema to take the role , described as a psychopathic master manipulator with an attractive wife . Spacey signed up for the role in June 2010 . The part was considered " integral " to the film . Gordon commented that the character was an amalgamation of several real bosses ( rather than one single person ) to avoid being sued .   Jamie Foxx as Dean " Motherfuckah " Jones   The character had the more " colorful " name " Cocksucker Jones " , but it was changed at Foxx 's request , with producer Jay Stern commenting that Foxx felt it " was over the line " . The current name was said to be subject to further change , prior to the release of the film . Foxx contributed to his character 's appearance , suggesting full @-@ scalp tattoos and a retro clothing style . Foxx described the appearance as " a guy who maybe went to jail for a minute and now he 's living in his own time capsule . When he got out he went right back to the clothes he thought were hot when he went in . "   During the six @-@ year development of the film , several actors were in negotiations to star , including Owen Wilson , Vince Vaughn , Matthew McConaughey , Ryan Reynolds , Dax Shepard , and Johnny Knoxville .   Donald Sutherland portrays Jack Pellitt , Bobby 's father and Kurt 's boss . On July 27 , 2010 , Isaiah Mustafa was confirmed as joining the cast . Mustafa was quoted as saying " It 's a smaller role " . He appears as Officer Wilkens . Julie Bowen appears in the film as Rhonda , Harken 's wife . Bowen stated that her character " may or may not be a hussy " , the character described as intentionally making her husband jealous . Ioan Gruffudd has a cameo as a male prostitute erroneously hired as a hitman . Lindsay Sloane appears as Dale 's fiancee Stacy . P. J. Byrne plays Kenny Sommerfeld , a former investment manager , now scrounging for drinks , while Wendell Pierce and Ron White play a pair of cops . Bob Newhart makes a cameo as sadistic Comnidyne CEO Louis Sherman . John Francis Daley , a screenwriter on the film , cameos as Nick 's co @-@ worker Carter .   = = Production = =   = = = Development = = =   Markowitz 's script for Horrible Bosses was sold at auction to New Line Cinema by Ratner 's production company Rat Entertainment in 2005 for a six @-@ figure amount . Ratner initially was interested in directing , but became occupied with directing the comedy Tower Heist . Frank Oz and David Dobkin were in talks to direct . Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley rewrote the script in 2010 , and the project went into production with Seth Gordon directing .   = = = Design = = =   Production designer Shepherd Frankel specifically set out to create distinctly different environments for the three employees and their respective bosses ' homes and offices . Nick and Harken 's workplace is the " Comnidyne " bullpen , which was designed to " enhance the discomfort and anxiety of lower @-@ level employees clustered in the center of the room where every movement is monitored by the boss from his corner office . " The design team met with financial strategists and management companies to learn about the architecture of their office layouts to visually represent the experience of starting from a low @-@ ranking position in a cubicle and aspiring to an office . Costume designer Carol Ramsey worked with Frankel and set decorator Jan Pascale to match Harken 's suit to that of the surrounding " cold grey and blue " color palette of his office . Hark
iston Ġ. ĠâĢ Ŀ ĠThe Ġactress Ġinsisted Ġon Ġwearing Ġa Ġbrown Ġwig Ġfor Ġthe Ġrole Ġ, Ġwanting Ġto Ġlook Ġdifferent Ġfrom Ġother Ġcharacters Ġshe Ġhad Ġplayed Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠColin ĠFarrell Ġas ĠBobby ĠPell itt Ġ Ġ ĠDes cribed Ġas Ġa Ġ" Ġwe ase lly Ġsc ion Ġ" Ġand Ġa Ġ" Ġcorrupt Ġand Ġincompetent Ġjerk Ġwho Ġ' s Ġin Ġcharge Ġof Ġthings Ġbut Ġclearly Ġhas Ġno Ġidea Ġwhat Ġhe Ġ' s Ġdoing Ġ. Ġ" ĠFarrell Ġexplained Ġthe Ġmotivation Ġhe Ġgave Ġto Ġthe Ġcharacter Ġ, Ġstating Ġ" ĠThis Ġguy Ġthinks Ġhe Ġ' s ĠGod Ġ' s Ġgift Ġto Ġwomen Ġ, ĠGod Ġ' s Ġgift Ġto Ġintellect Ġ, Ġto Ġhumor Ġ, Ġto Ġthe Ġclub Ġscene Ġ, Ġto Ġeverything Ġ. ĠIt Ġ' s Ġall Ġpart Ġof Ġhis Ġgrand i ose Ġsense Ġof Ġself Ġ@ - @ Ġesteem Ġ, Ġwhich Ġis Ġprobably Ġmask ing Ġa Ġdeeper Ġsense Ġof Ġbeing Ġa Ġdisappointment Ġto Ġhis Ġfather Ġand Ġbeing Ġriddled Ġwith Ġenvy Ġover Ġthe Ġrelationship Ġhis Ġfather Ġhad Ġwith ĠKurt Ġ, Ġand Ġall Ġkinds Ġof Ġother Ġthings Ġ. ĠWith ĠPell it Ġ, ĠSeth Ġgave Ġme Ġcomplete Ġlicense Ġto Ġact Ġas Ġpath ologically Ġscrewed Ġup Ġas Ġpossible Ġ. Ġ" ĠFarrell Ġcontributed Ġsignificantly Ġto Ġthe Ġappearance Ġof Ġhis Ġcharacter Ġ, Ġsuggesting Ġthe Ġcomb Ġover Ġhairst yle Ġ, Ġpot Ġ@ - @ Ġbelly Ġand Ġan Ġaffinity Ġfor ĠChinese Ġdragons Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠKevin ĠSpace y Ġas ĠDavid ĠH ark en Ġ Ġ ĠPresident Ġof ĠCom n idy ne ĠIndustries Ġ. ĠTom ĠCruise Ġ, ĠPhilip ĠSeymour ĠHoffman Ġand ĠJeff ĠBridges Ġhad Ġbeen Ġapproached Ġby ĠNew ĠLine ĠCinema Ġto Ġtake Ġthe Ġrole Ġ, Ġdescribed Ġas Ġa Ġpsychopath ic Ġmaster Ġmanip ulator Ġwith Ġan Ġattractive Ġwife Ġ. ĠSpace y Ġsigned Ġup Ġfor Ġthe Ġrole Ġin ĠJune Ġ2010 Ġ. ĠThe Ġpart Ġwas Ġconsidered Ġ" Ġintegral Ġ" Ġto Ġthe Ġfilm Ġ. ĠGordon Ġcommented Ġthat Ġthe Ġcharacter Ġwas Ġan Ġamalg amation Ġof Ġseveral Ġreal Ġbosses Ġ( Ġrather Ġthan Ġone Ġsingle Ġperson Ġ) Ġto Ġavoid Ġbeing Ġsued Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠJamie ĠFox x Ġas ĠDean Ġ" ĠMother fuck ah Ġ" ĠJones Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġcharacter Ġhad Ġthe Ġmore Ġ" Ġcolorful Ġ" Ġname Ġ" ĠC ocks ucker ĠJones Ġ" Ġ, Ġbut Ġit Ġwas Ġchanged Ġat ĠFox x Ġ' s Ġrequest Ġ, Ġwith Ġproducer ĠJay ĠStern Ġcommenting Ġthat ĠFox x Ġfelt Ġit Ġ" Ġwas Ġover Ġthe Ġline Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe Ġcurrent Ġname Ġwas Ġsaid Ġto Ġbe Ġsubject Ġto Ġfurther Ġchange Ġ, Ġprior Ġto Ġthe Ġrelease Ġof Ġthe Ġfilm Ġ. ĠFox x Ġcontributed Ġto Ġhis Ġcharacter Ġ' s Ġappearance Ġ, Ġsuggesting Ġfull Ġ@ - @ Ġscalp Ġtattoos Ġand Ġa Ġretro Ġclothing Ġstyle Ġ. ĠFox x Ġdescribed Ġthe Ġappearance Ġas Ġ" Ġa Ġguy Ġwho Ġmaybe Ġwent Ġto Ġjail Ġfor Ġa Ġminute Ġand Ġnow Ġhe Ġ' s Ġliving Ġin Ġhis Ġown Ġtime Ġcapsule Ġ. ĠWhen Ġhe Ġgot Ġout Ġhe Ġwent Ġright Ġback Ġto Ġthe Ġclothes Ġhe Ġthought Ġwere Ġhot Ġwhen Ġhe Ġwent Ġin Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠDuring Ġthe Ġsix Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġdevelopment Ġof Ġthe Ġfilm Ġ, Ġseveral Ġactors Ġwere Ġin Ġnegotiations Ġto Ġstar Ġ, Ġincluding ĠOwen ĠWilson Ġ, ĠVince ĠVaughn Ġ, ĠMatthew ĠMc Con aug hey Ġ, ĠRyan ĠReynolds Ġ, ĠD ax ĠShepard Ġ, Ġand ĠJohnny ĠKnox ville Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDonald ĠSutherland Ġportrays ĠJack ĠPell itt Ġ, ĠBobby Ġ' s Ġfather Ġand ĠKurt Ġ' s Ġboss Ġ. ĠOn ĠJuly Ġ27 Ġ, Ġ2010 Ġ, ĠIsaiah ĠMust afa Ġwas Ġconfirmed Ġas Ġjoining Ġthe Ġcast Ġ. ĠMust afa Ġwas Ġquoted Ġas Ġsaying Ġ" ĠIt Ġ' s Ġa Ġsmaller Ġrole Ġ" Ġ. ĠHe Ġappears Ġas ĠOfficer ĠWil kens Ġ. ĠJulie ĠBowen Ġappears Ġin Ġthe Ġfilm Ġas ĠRh onda Ġ, ĠH ark en Ġ' s Ġwife Ġ. ĠBowen Ġstated Ġthat Ġher Ġcharacter Ġ" Ġmay Ġor Ġmay Ġnot Ġbe Ġa Ġh ussy Ġ" Ġ, Ġthe Ġcharacter Ġdescribed Ġas Ġintentionally Ġmaking Ġher Ġhusband Ġjealous Ġ. ĠI oan ĠGru ff udd Ġhas Ġa Ġcameo Ġas Ġa Ġmale Ġprostitute Ġerrone ously Ġhired Ġas Ġa Ġhit man Ġ. ĠLindsay ĠSl o ane Ġappears Ġas ĠDale Ġ' s Ġfiance e ĠStacy Ġ. ĠP . ĠJ . ĠByrne Ġplays ĠKenny ĠSom mer feld Ġ, Ġa Ġformer Ġinvestment Ġmanager Ġ, Ġnow Ġsc rou ng ing Ġfor Ġdrinks Ġ, Ġwhile ĠWend ell ĠPierce Ġand ĠRon ĠWhite Ġplay Ġa Ġpair Ġof Ġcops Ġ. ĠBob ĠNew hart Ġmakes Ġa Ġcameo Ġas Ġsad istic ĠCom n idy ne ĠCEO ĠLouis ĠSherman Ġ. ĠJohn ĠFrancis ĠD aley Ġ, Ġa Ġscreen writer Ġon Ġthe Ġfilm Ġ, Ġcame os Ġas ĠNick Ġ' s Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġworker ĠCarter Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠProduction Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠDevelopment Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠMark owitz Ġ' s Ġscript Ġfor ĠHor rible ĠBoss es Ġwas Ġsold Ġat Ġauction Ġto ĠNew ĠLine ĠCinema Ġby ĠRat ner Ġ' s Ġproduction Ġcompany ĠRat ĠEntertainment Ġin Ġ2005 Ġfor Ġa Ġsix Ġ@ - @ Ġfigure Ġamount Ġ. ĠRat ner Ġinitially Ġwas Ġinterested Ġin Ġdirecting Ġ, Ġbut Ġbecame Ġoccupied Ġwith Ġdirecting Ġthe Ġcomedy ĠTower ĠHeist Ġ. ĠFrank ĠOz Ġand ĠDavid ĠDob kin Ġwere Ġin Ġtalks Ġto Ġdirect Ġ. ĠJonathan ĠGoldstein Ġand ĠJohn ĠFrancis ĠD aley Ġre wrote Ġthe Ġscript Ġin Ġ2010 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġproject Ġwent Ġinto Ġproduction Ġwith ĠSeth ĠGordon Ġdirecting Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠDesign Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠProduction Ġdesigner ĠShepherd ĠFran kel Ġspecifically Ġset Ġout Ġto Ġcreate Ġdistinctly Ġdifferent Ġenvironments Ġfor Ġthe Ġthree Ġemployees Ġand Ġtheir Ġrespective Ġbosses Ġ' Ġhomes Ġand Ġoffices Ġ. ĠNick Ġand ĠH ark en Ġ' s Ġworkplace Ġis Ġthe Ġ" ĠCom n idy ne Ġ" Ġbullpen Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġdesigned Ġto Ġ" Ġenhance Ġthe Ġdiscomfort Ġand Ġanxiety Ġof Ġlower Ġ@ - @ Ġlevel Ġemployees Ġclustered Ġin Ġthe Ġcenter Ġof Ġthe Ġroom Ġwhere Ġevery Ġmovement Ġis Ġmonitored Ġby Ġthe Ġboss Ġfrom Ġhis Ġcorner Ġoffice Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe Ġdesign Ġteam Ġmet Ġwith Ġfinancial Ġstrateg ists Ġand Ġmanagement Ġcompanies Ġto Ġlearn Ġabout Ġthe Ġarchitecture Ġof Ġtheir Ġoffice Ġlayouts Ġto Ġvisually Ġrepresent Ġthe Ġexperience Ġof Ġstarting Ġfrom Ġa Ġlow Ġ@ - @ Ġranking Ġposition Ġin Ġa Ġcub icle Ġand Ġaspiring Ġto Ġan Ġoffice Ġ. ĠCostume Ġdesigner ĠCarol ĠRamsey Ġworked Ġwith ĠFran kel Ġand Ġset Ġdecor ator ĠJan ĠP asc ale Ġto Ġmatch ĠH ark en Ġ' s Ġsuit Ġto Ġthat Ġof Ġthe Ġsurrounding Ġ" Ġcold Ġgrey Ġand Ġblue Ġ" Ġcolor Ġpalette Ġof Ġhis Ġoffice Ġ. ĠH ark