first time oscar winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese Casting his two most frequent starring actors, Robert De Niro and leonardo dicaprioin the same movie last year Killers of the Flower MoonThe film is based on the real-life series of murders against Osage members and their relatives that occurred shortly after oil was discovered in Osage Nation. The three-and-a-half-hour epic also includes dozens of speaking characters, which means the casting directors have their work cut out for them. In an interview with Below the Line, one of the film’s casting directors, Alan Lewistalked about the casting of many characters in the period piece.
Lewis explained that casting was influenced by archival documents but was not the purpose. “You just start to get a sense of what the community looks and feels like,” she said. “There are pictures of everyone, I mean, it’s all based on real people, obviously, a lot of them are family members, and their pictures are in the book. But there’s A lot of outlaws are real. But what you have to do is accept it and then you have to clear your mind because what we don’t do is we don’t cast similar people. The essence of someone. You want to understand people’s souls and feelings.
Louis specially selected actors Scott ShepherdByron Burkhart, who plays DiCaprio’s character’s younger brother, received critical acclaim. “I think Scott is a wonderful, understated actor. He’s the kind of actor that I feel confident that Marty would respond to. I think, in his own quiet and dangerous way, because I do think Scott has a lot going for him, so he adds a lot to the role, and I don’t know if you’re familiar with it, but Scott is a great theater actor and he’s a member of the Worcester Group and the elevator maintenance company in New York. Very interesting avant-garde troupe. He’s a very, very good actor.
Two of the film’s most talked-about casting choices were for small roles John Lithgow Peter Lillard Brendan Fraser WS Hamilton, both playing lawyers. Lewis revealed that they were very late in the casting process, explaining: “I knew if I cast them too early, they wouldn’t end up being there. I really waited until about five weeks ago and we weren’t trying to guest star in any way. […] I do my process [Scorsese]I talk to him, I bring him eight ideas, and then we discuss them. They’re both great actors and I thought they added a really fun energy to this part of the movie.
Although a movie like this Killers of the Flower Moon The show has dozens of speaking characters, and Lewis admits she didn’t try to keep a number in mind as she worked her way from the lead to her favorite role, a one-day bit part. She said: “I don’t know how many speaking characters there are in this movie. I actually try not to count. It’s like, okay, let’s keep rolling here. We start at the top and go from there. You just hope It was truly a fascinating journey to build a world through the director’s face. […] I actually prefer to cast daytime players rather than protagonists because, I don’t know, it’s always fun. The people you meet, you just have to trust what they say, so you can try to engage with a variety of people from all walks of life.
