Listen, Ben Gazzara is one of my all time favorite actors and I know he posses those "tough guy" qualities but he hardly seems (especially in his fifties) like the kind of guy who is going to end up in a martial arts battle with the much younger, much better Dalton. At the end I know he took it for the paycheck but I'm eager to know how they ended up with him as the bad guy in this action movie.
shareI think he was perfect for the role.
He didn't intend to get into a one-on-one fight with Dalton. That only happened after Dalton wiped out all of the younger guys working for him.
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You got your mind right, Luke?
Maybe Gazzara looked at the script, love it and thought it would be a fun part to play.
shareAs been mentioned before on these boards, Brad Wesley is one of the most absurd villians of all time. That being said, I loved the late great Ben Gazzara in this role!
shareOh don't get me wrong I love Ben Gazzara in this movie, I'm just seeking out an interview clip or story where he mentions why he chose to do it or how he felt about the film itself.
I don't know if such an interview exists, but getting to see Gazzara sing and drive all over the highway was pure gold!
shareProbably for the money, maybe cause he looked at it and thought it would be a great role to just have a ton of fun with.
When he saw he would get to drive all over the road and bring JC Penney's to town he probably said "Where do I sign?"
http://www.movingpictureshow.com/dialogues/mpsBenGazzara.htm
June 7, 1989
“I really enjoy villains,” Gazzara said during a recent Manhattan press gathering to promote Road House. “Actually, I came into movies as a villain. In 1957, my first film, called The Strange One, I was Jocko de Paris. The New Yorker called me ‘the most huggable heavy since Bogart.’ I remember that review -- the only review I've ever remembered.
“So when I read the script for this, I was interested. (Producer Joel Silver) faxed it to me at the Hassler Hotel in Rome. You can imagine me unrolling this long, long fax, all over the floor, and laughing. And once I laughed, I bought it. The character made me laugh, and I figured, ‘I've got to do this, it's too delicious.’
“And when we were filming, I never worried about going over the top, because he was so much fun to play. You just worry about being the predictable villain. So, you try to find a sense of humor, the opposite colors to play, to play against the evil -- and to have some fun with the part.”
Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?
It wasn't like Ben Gazzara was getting all these great films and tv shows.
I think he was perfect for the role. I can see why people are more upset with ending but he had the lass and charisma to carry 95% percent of the movie. Him driving the car, singing and almost running PS's character off the road is a great scene.
BG has done worse B movies. Like Paul Newman said, "sometimes you take a role, because it's May and you need work".
He has mentioned he doesn't understand the popularity of the film, and it's the role he is remembered for everywhere he goes.
Probably a fun role for him when few scripts were coming his way and a decent paycheck. He was great in "Run For Your Life" I'm sure Clooney and DeVito didn't need the money for those stupid nescafe spots.
the NRA - supporting gun rights for terrorists. Why does the NRA hate America?
Probably because he read the script and said "This is the greatest thing I've ever read..."
shareFunny you should ask. True story: I was visited by aliens from outer space several years ago. I was hiking in some woods near my home when I noticed something dropping out of the sky. It was an aircraft I had never seen before. I soon realized it must be of otherworldly origin...a spaceship. Strangely, I felt a sense of calm. I had no feeling that I should flee. The ship landed very near where I was standing and a hatch opened. A short alien being got out of the ship, walked right over to where I was standing, and asked in perfect English, "Ben Gazzara is a good actor, why can't he get a series?"