Is it true that Dean put some of himself into this role? What I mean is, did James Dean really have a strained relationship with his father? In the biopic on his life they gave you the impression that James Dean put a lot of himself into the role of Cal. What was the story with Jimmy and his father?
shareI beleive James Dean did have a difficult relationship with his dad and was drawing on it for the role. The relationship was certainly a strained one. His dad packed him off to his uncles after his mum died, travelling in the same train on his own with his mothers coffin!
I read in an interview with Director Elia Kazan where he said he that ,while in the process of deciding who to cast for the part, he had dropped by with James Dean to see his father, saw how they related (or failed to relate) with each other, and decided there in then to give him the part. I also read in a Steinbeck bio that Elia said to Hohn Steinbeck something along the lines of "I met a guy today - don't know if he can act but he IS Cal"
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