Subtle Casting Choices In Beloved Films

In Full Metal JacketStanley Kubrick committed to an accurate military experience in Full Metal Jacket. Kubrick gave the part to Emery after watching an instructional tape Emery put together for the original actor. Kubrick also let Emery edit his dialogue and improvise on set because of his skill and natural fit for the role.Actor R. Lee Ermey played Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. Ermey served as a drill instructor and a marine in real life.Stanley Kubrick first hired Ermey as a technical advisor.For the film, Stanley Kubrick watched an instructional tape Emery put together for the original actor, Kubrick gave the part to Emery. Kubrick also allowed Emery to edit his dialogue and improvise on set because of his expertise and natural inclination for the role.

From Redditoru/clappin-eels:

InThe Dark Knight(2008) Senator Patrick Leahy is the old man compared to the Joker’s father. Senator Leahy appeared in five Batman movies and voiced a senator inBatman The Animated Series.

From Redditoru/andjuan:

The money he earns from cameos goes to charity. Most of it funds the library where he read comic books as a kid.

From Redditoru/dartmaster666:

InGoodfellas(1990) U.S. Attorney Edward McDonald plays this role. He reenacted a conversation with the real Henry and Karen Hill after they flipped. He volunteered for the part after Scorsese scouted his office for a filming spot and won it after a screen test. His line, “don’t give me the babe-in-the-woods routine, Karen,” came from improv, like much of the script.

From Redditoru/Sam-Starxin:

InLord of the Rings:The Return of the King(2003) During the epic Rohirrim Charge scene, Peter Jackson asked for extras who read the novel and can recite the scene to be in the front lines because they know how important this moment is. This is how he got this epic rider!

From Redditoru/HarryFabian5185:

InGoodfellas,During the continuous shot introducing Mafia members, “Fat Andy” appears. NYPD Detective Louis Eppolito plays “Fat Andy.” Eppolito was a cop and a hit man for the mob. In 2006, he was convicted of eight murder counts among other charges.

His crimes became public in the mid-2000s, even though he published a book calledMafia CopHe discussed being a “clean” cop with mafia family ties. His partner was also in the mob and killed people. They committed murder on duty. They would stop at a target’s house, show their badges, and then the target was seen.

From Redditoru/Comic_Book_Reader:

Composer John Williams makes a cameo as a bartender on Kijimi in The Rise of Skywalker.The Rise of Skywalker. His character’s name is Oma Tres, an anagram of maestro.

From Redditoru/Psycho55:

The actor who played Luca Brasi inThe Godfatherwas actually a member of the Colombo crime family sent to watch the set [because of an agreement with the Italian-American Civil Rights League, Joe Colombo and Frank Sinatra]. Coppola cast him, but his nerves caused him to make mistakes and repeat lines. The film then used this as a character trait.

From Redditoru/JoshuaCalledMe:

InTitanic(1997), Bernard Fox played Archibald Gracie, who also played the lookout Frederick Fleet in another Titanic sinking movie.A Night To Remember(1958). James Cameron cast him as a link between the two films.

From Redditoru/realbee55:

Lance Henriksen was James Cameron's first choice for the title role inThe TerminatorThe concept aimed for a machine to blend into a crowd. When the concept changed, Arnold Schwarzenegger got the role, so Henriksen was recast.Later, Cameron madeAliensHe cast Henriksen as Bishop, an android.

From Redditoru/Tokyono:

InCaptain Phillips(2013), a real navy medic (Danielle Albert) was in the infirmary scene. The director told her to treat Tom Hanks like a "regular military exercise". The sequence was unscripted and improvised.

From Redditoru/Objective-Menu3158:

InCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, andAvengers: Endgame, the cast of the TV showCommunitycan make a cameo. The Russo Brothers directed and produced the show for a long time. The episodes they directed on the show impressed Marvel and got them to direct their first Marvel movie.

From Redditoru/Numerous-Lemon:

InPalm Springs(2020), Sarah contacts a physicist named Clifford Johnson. He is a real scientist who worked on the movie and helped filmmakers create an original idea for a time-loop story.

From Redditoru/PhatWalda:

InLabyrinth(1986), David Bowie plays two parts: the Goblin King, Jareth; and Jeremy, the actor Sarah's mother left her father for.

Redditoru/Tokyonoadded:

It was confirmed in the novelization. FromWikipedia:

"Smith's novelisation of Labyrinth expands on Sarah's relationship with her absent mother, stage-actress Linda Williams, who left Sarah and her father years earlier. The film shows brief photos of Linda and her co-star Jeremy (David Bowie) in Sarah's bedroom with newspaper clippings about their “on-off romance”. Sarah admires her mother and Jeremy; the novelization details Sarah wanting to follow their example to become an actress and dreaming of their celebrity life. After her Labyrinth adventure, Sarah matures and re-evaluates her life, putting away all clippings of Linda and Jeremy and the music box her mother gave her."

From Redditoru/DeathdeaIer:

Sylvester Stallone was first cast inBeverly Hills Copand completely rewrote the script [making it a straight action film], even changing the character's name to "Axel Corbetti". They decided to change actors [to Eddie Murphy]. Stallone’s script became the basis forCobra; with him playing Marion Cobretti. Later, inBeverly Hills Cop II, there is aCobraposter in the background of a scene, and many references to Stallone throughout.

From Redditoru/woja111:

In Roald Dahl'sThe Witches(1990) At the witches conference scene, many witches are actually played by men.