In the movie industry, actors are cast and fired so often that it’s almost like a chess game when it comes to directors getting the exact actor they want. There is so much politics and inside baseball when it comes to casting in Hollywood, and some of those stories have even come to light.
Whether it’s getting actors to sign on the dotted line when they’re drunk, tussling with the studio to get the only actor they want, or totally rewriting a character just so a movie icon will take it, directors have gone to extreme lengths to cast their first choices. And it works the other way too, as there have been a few instances in which actors have gone to extremes in order for their favorite directors to cast them.
Quentin Tarantino Got Brad Pitt Drunk
To agree to play Lieutenant Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds, Tarantino had to get Brad Pitt to sign on the dotted line when he was under the influence of alcohol and “some kind of smoking device.” He hilariously goes on to say that six weeks later he found himself on set of Inglourious Basterds. But it worked out for the best, as though there’s a select few who think his performance is terrible, Pitt’s portrayal of Lieutenant Aldo Raine is one of his best roles.
John Favreau Fought Marvel Studios To Have Robert Downey Jr. As Iron Man
Years before Iron Man was in development, Robert Downey Jr. went through several well-documented personal issues, but that didn’t hold him back from returning to Hollywood as talented as ever. It was the 2005 crime comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang that made Iron Man director John Favreau really want to cast the actor.
However, due to Downey’s previous behavior, they didn’t want him leading a movie that had the potential to become a billion-dollar franchise. Favreau wouldn’t take no for an answer, and Marvel Studios apparently agreed when the director argued that there were so many parallels between the character in the movie and the real-life actor.
Casting Al Pacino In The Godfather Sounds Like A Story Taken Straight Out Of The Movie
When it comes to the cast of The Godfather, it’s impossible to see Michael Corleone being played by anyone other than Al Pacino. However, at the time, Pacino was tied up and couldn’t get out of starring in the MGM movie The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, another organized crime film. However, the producer of The Godfather, Robert Evans, had a friend who was a reputed Mafia lawyer, and he spoke with MGM to free Pacino from his contract. The meeting was all of 20 minutes. It could be that the lawyer made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.
George Clooney On Hail, Caesar!
As Hail, Caesar is one of the best movies about working in Hollywood, it ironically came to fruition in a very Hollywood-like way. George Clooney did something unprecedented, which was to encourage the Coen Brothers to do something they didn’t particularly want to do, and he did it in the most hilarious way possible.
Back when the directors and actors were shooting O Brother, Where Art Thou together, the brothers told Clooney about an idea they had called Hail, Caesar. At the time, it was just that, an idea, but Clooney loved it so much that he kept telling reporters that Hail, Caesar was the next movie he was working on, which was a complete lie. After Clooney didn’t give up, the Coen Bros. finally caved and ended up writing the screenplay.
Leonardo DiCaprio Didn’t Want To Star In Titanic Until James Cameron Convinced Him
Being one of the greatest actors of this generation, Leonardo DiCaprio is best known for playing characters who are tortured and deeply flawed. But his big breakthrough was when he played the heartthrob Jack Dawson in one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, Titanic.
However, it was almost a missed opportunity, as the actor didn’t want to take the role due to Jack being exactly that, a heartthrob. It was only when director James Cameron explained how many layers Jack has that he agreed to take the role. But though he finally accepted, he still hasn’t returned to that kind of romantic heartthrob role since.
Jonah Hill Took The Lowest Salary Possible Just So He Could Work With Martin Scorsese
Every actor in the world wants to work with Martin Scorsese, not only because of how celebrated he is but because anybody who is in his movies, no matter how minor the role, pretty much becomes a star overnight. However, Jonah Hill was already a massive star, but he was still willing to do anything to get in on The Wolf of Wall Street.
Because the movie was so close to going over budget, Hill agreed to take the Screen Actor’s Guild minimum, which is $60,000. Though that’s still a lot of money for just a couple of months’ work, it’s just a fraction of what DiCaprio made, which was $10 million.
Sofia Coppola Sent Bill Murray His Salary Without Him Signing Anything And Not Knowing If He’d Show Up
Lost In Translation might have been the movie that launched Scarlett Johansson’s career and she was probably over the moon to be cast, not every actor who was hired seemed so thrilled.
Sofia Coppola was so adamant that she only wanted Bill Murray to play the aging movie star Bob Harris that she personally sent him his salary of $2 million even though he hadn’t signed a contract. Not only that, but they hadn’t even spoken to each other since the first initial meeting, and Murray never got in touch since. But despite putting Coppola through the wringer, he showed up in Tokyo one week before the shooting was scheduled to take place.
Marlon Brando Only Agreed To Star In Apocalypse Now If His Long List Of Demands Were Met
One of the most memorable parts of Apocalypse Now is the sadistic General Kurtz, played incredibly by Marlon Brando. However, it almost didn’t happen, as the celebrated actor had a long list of demands. On top of the ridiculous salary of $1 million per day, Brando only agreed to do it if he improvised all of his scenes, which is absurd considering he hadn’t bothered to read the script.
But in the end, Brando’s demands even made the movie better in a way. As one of the requests was that he was to be shot from afar and in the shadows because he was self-conscious about his weight. And those very methods helped general Kurtz become Brando’s most intimidating character.
Scorsese Expanded The Part Of Costello In The Departed Just So He Could Get Jack Nicholson On Board
It’s hard to believe that any actor would be reluctant to work with Scorsese, but upon first reading the script, Jack Nicholson didn’t think there was much meat to chew on when it came to the role of Costello in The Departed.
In an interview with The Seattle Times, Nicholson explained that he had a meeting with Scorsese and the writer, William Monahan, in which they said they’d expand the role just to get him on board. And the movie is unquestionably better for it. As the movie is turning 15 years old this year, it’s certainly considered a gangster classic at this point, and that’s largely thanks to Nicholson’s sadistic portrayal of the mob boss.
Joaquin Phoenix Never Said Yes To Play Joker, He Just Showed Up
It is fascinating to see how off the cuff some classic movies are made, as the most iconic films have so many last-minute alterations and casting decisions. And according to director Todd Phillips himself, he didn’t actually know that Joaquin Phoenix agreed to take the role until the actor actually turned up for wardrobe.
The director had been chasing Phoenix around L.A. for months trying to sweet-talk him into playing the Joker, but the actor was so reluctant. It’s amazing how close the role came to being played by someone else, as Phoneix turned the comic book character into somebody frighteningly real and it redefined a classic character.