LISTS My 10 Favorite Hollywood Casting Stories
My 10 favorite behind-the-scenes tales of how certain people ended up in certain projects.
The other night, taking advantage of the recent Disney+ catalogue expansion with the addition of Star, I rewatched From Hell, which I hadn’t seen in its entirety since 2003 (I still enjoy it, even though it has blatant issues, most notably Johnny Depp’s accent).
After the viewing, I did some reading and was reminded of the fact that, before casting Depp, the filmmakers had initially envisioned Daniel Day-Lewis for the part of Inspector Abberline and then, bizarrely, offered the role to Sean Connery (the real Abberline was 45 at the time of the film’s events; Connery, who eventually dropped out, was 69 when filming started). Additionally, Ian Holm was cast as Sir William Gull after the original choice, Nigel Hawthorne, left the project for health reasons (he died a month after the film’s release).
This got me thinking about the sometimes fortuitous and often amusing circumstances that can lead to an actor being cast in a project, and I decided to list my ten favorite behind-the-scenes casting anecdotes, in no particular order. Enjoy.
1. Maurice LaMarche in Animaniacs (1993)
When the Animaniacs team first started designing the various main characters, they based the Brain’s physical likeness on that of Tom Minton, a producer on Tiny Toon Adventures. Voice actor Maurice LaMarche, who had never met Minton, saw a sketch of the character and thought he looked like Orson Welles. Thrilled at the idea the role might have been written with him in mind, the actor – a well-known Welles impersonator, who would recite lines from the infamous frozen peas commercial outtakes to do sound checks during recording sessions – did his customary impression of the famous director (with a bit of Vincent Price thrown in for good measure) and was cast on the spot. The writers subsequently threw in multiple Welles gags throughout the show’s run, including one segment that has been described as a 300,000 dollar in-joke.
2. Robin Williams in Happy Days (1978)
First introduced in the fifth season of Happy Days, the alien Mork proved so popular he was given his own spin-off show (the original episode ended with the revelation that it was all a dream; syndication added a scene showing Mork had actually erased everyone’s memories). A perfect showcase for Robin Williams’ improvisational skills, the series had to use four cameras – rather than the customary three – with one pointed at the actor at all times in case he went off script (the scripts themselves ended up containing sections saying, “Robin goes off at this point”, meaning he was free to improvise as he saw fit). The late, great comedian was so good at doing the unexpected he won the part on the spot, right after auditioning: upon being told to take a seat, he did so by sitting on his head. Series creator Garry Marshall decided to hire him right away because he was the only alien who showed up for the auditions.
3. Linda Blair in The Exorcist (1973)
The trickiest role to cast in The Exorcist was that of Regan McNeil, due to the character’s young age (Mike Nichols turned down an offer to direct the film because of that). After many unsuccessful auditions, William Friedkin – who loves telling this story every time he gets the chance - was introduced to Linda Blair, who was 12 at the time. After getting to know her a bit, the director asked her questions about the more questionable material, to make sure she could handle it. Blair, as it turns out, had read the novel, and mentioned the scene where Regan masturbates with a crucifix. Friedkin asked her if she knew what masturbation was, and if she’d ever done it, to which she replied “Sure, haven’t you?”. At that point, Friedkin knew she’s be able to get through the filming (although Eileen Dietz, who also played the face of Pazuzu, doubled for her in scenes that were too disturbing or physically demanding).
4. Dee Bradley Baker in American Dad! (2005)
Known for frequently doing animal and creature sounds, Dee Bradley Baker also has a few signature “human” roles, most notably the Clones in the Star Wars animated series and Klaus the fish in American Dad!, a part he has been playing since 2005. And yet, it almost didn’t happen: as originally conceived by Seth MacFarlane and his team, the talking fish – actually a man whose brain was put in a fish’s body – was named Jacques and hailed from France. Baker, who doesn’t speak French, decided to try it with a German accent instead, having studied the language as an exchange student at the University of Göttingen. The producers liked it, and the character’s name was changed to Klaus. Baker’s performance is frequently lauded as one of the highlights of the series, and is a subject of admiration among his peers: at a 2013 Comic-Con panel for the documentary I Know That Voice, John DiMaggio jokingly commented that whenever he hears Klaus he needs to take a shower afterwards, because he feels as though he had just watched German pornography.
5. Fernando Rey in The French Connection (1971)
Another Friedkin story, this time the result of a hilarious misunderstanding: for the role of the villain Alain Charnier, the director wanted a Spanish actor he had just seen in Belle de Jour, but couldn’t remember his name. The casting director got in touch with Fernando Rey, who had acted in multiple Luis Buñuel films, just not the one Friedkin was talking about. Once they got in touch with the right person, Francisco Rabal, they decided to keep Rey in the role anyway, since Rabal couldn’t speak any French or English. In the final version of the film, Rey’s French dialogue was overdubbed since he didn’t sound good enough, but his real voice was kept for scenes where he speaks English.
6. Bob Balaban in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
For the role of David Laughlin, Lacombe’s assistant/interpreter, Steven Spielberg needed an actor who could speak French, and contacted Bob Balaban, enquiring about his language skills over the phone. Balaban, who had studied French but not spoken it in years, replied that he wasn’t very good, but since he did so in French he got the role anyway. After he was cast, Balaban took classes to make sure his rendition of the language was acceptable, and also rehearsed extensively with François Truffaut, who played Lacombe.
7. Vincent Price in The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
For many actors, voicing a character in a Disney animated film is a lifelong dream. One such actor was Vincent Price, who lent his voice to the villainous Professor Ratigan in the 1986 film that marked the early stages of a resurgence for the company’s animation department. The directors decided to cast Price after viewing his performance in the film Champagne for Caesar, which they had watched to study Ronald Colman as a physical reference for Basil of Baker Street. As is customary for Disney animation, even big stars are asked to audition, so the filmmakers are sure the performance matches what they had in mind. Price, who had been acting since 1935, happily agreed to do so, later telling the Bangor Daily News that if anyone else had asked him, he would have been offended.
8. Bill Murray in Garfield (2004)
While the film itself turned out fairly mediocre, few would argue that Bill Murray wasn’t an inspired choice for the role of Garfield, at least on paper (his performance is lethargic even by the character’s standards). The actor has famously claimed he agreed to do the film because when he received the script he mistook co-writer Joel Cohen for Joel Coen, the man behind Fargo and The Big Lebowski. Alec Sokolow, who wrote the screenplay with Cohen, has disputed this version, claiming it’s just an amusing anecdote with which Murray attempts to distance himself from a poorly received film (which he also poked fun at in Zombieland).
9. Dave Coulier in The Real Ghostbusters (1987)
In an attempt to make the show its own thing (as well as not having to pay the actors for using their likenesses), the character designs in The Real Ghostbusters were deliberately altered so they didn’t look too much like their live-action counterparts, and voice actors who auditioned were also invited to avoid impersonating the stars of the original movie. The one exception was Maurice LaMarche as Egon, since he argued the character still looked like Harold Ramis, and the producers let it slide. Some time later, Bill Murray jokingly complained about his character sounding like Garfield (another role voiced by Lorenzo Music, who had been cast as Venkman), but the people behind the show took it seriously enough to recast the part. Dave Coulier, a stand-up comedian whose repertoire consisted mainly of cartoon voice and impressions, took over as Venkman at the beginning of the third season.
10. Mila Kunis in That ‘70s Show (1998)
As is customary for American teen movies and shows, the teenagers inThat ‘70s Showwere actually played by adults due to labor laws restricting the amount of hours a minor can work on a film or TV production. One notable exception in the early seasons was Mila Kunis, who was actually 14 when she auditioned and 15 when the series premiered: since the casting department had specifically requested that all auditioning actors be 18 or older, she got around the restriction by saying she was about to turn 18, without saying when. The show’s producers eventually figured out the truth, but decided to keep her anyway because she was the best fit for the role of Jackie. When she wasn’t filming, Kunis would have a tutor on the set for her high school studies.