How Albert Brooks got cast as the villain in “Drive”
From a Backstage interview:
Everyone wants to take credit for casting you in “Drive” how did the role come to you?
Albert Brooks: I don’t know whose initial idea it was. And Ryan’s not joking. Nicolas takes credit for it now; even Bryan Cranston says, “I told them!” I don’t know whose idea it was, but I liked the idea. I got a call from my manager on a Thursday; the following day I was going to San Francisco. The casting director Mindy Marin had said [to my manager], “This director’s in town for two days; I’d like to send you a script. If Albert likes it, will he go meet with him?”
It all happened within an hour: I got a script, I read it, I really did like it, and I went and met him. They didn’t say, “It’s yours if you want it”—they just said to go meet him. So we had this weird dance. It was like an interview for a law firm. Nicolas says, “So, why do you think you should play this?” And I had a very good answer for him. I said, “The same 10 people always play the bad guy, so if you want everybody to think your movie’s old hat, cast them.” We talked some more, and he told me that when he was younger he sat in a theater and watched “Lost in America” and I scared him when I yelled at my wife. So then I pinned him up against the wall to show him I had strong arms, and I left.
Wait, did you really pin him? Did he know you were going to?
Brooks: I really did. He had no idea. And let me tell you something; for a guy who films all this violence, I don’t think he likes to be touched. I just grabbed him. It was at the end of the interview and I was walking out and we were by the door. And I grabbed him and said, very quietly, “To be violent, you don’t have to scream at people.”
That’s a bold move, but I guess it didn’t backfire?
Brooks: As I was doing it, I thought, “I don’t know if this is the right move.” But I wanted to do it. I was sort of pissed at the slow interview, and I wanted to do something. I mean, if this had been for, like, a secretarial position, I wouldn’t have done it. But I thought it was important to show actual physical strength.
Pretty gutsy move. But it paid off. Not much of Brooks in any of the trailers or clips online, but here is the red band trailer for Drive which opens this weekend:
For more of the Brooks interview, go here.
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