I thought I'd heard some bizarre "first choices" when it comes to casting, but I just read that The Wrestler's producers wanted Nicholas Cage for the lead? That is, to say the least, very difficult to envision. (Of course, I remember, some years ago, hearing that Cage was also some producer's first choice to play Superman, which if anything is even HARDER to imagine.)
shareHe wasn't the first choice. Aronofsky wanted Rourke from day one, however he was having problems getting so almost went with Cage as he was a more "Bankable" star. However I think Sin City had something to do with Rourke being able to play the role (Just a guess though)
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notwithoutreason.commy movie
Cage may be in a lot of bad movies, and plays the same eccentric character a lot, but I could totally imagine him in this role. He wouldn't have been totally the same as Rourke.. like Cage wouldn't have been as quiet, but I can still envision Cage playing this type of character in his own way. Look to his acting in Leaving Las Vegas.
shareI'm quite sure that Cage would have been able to pull of the performance with his acting but the thing I believe would have held him back was his body. He doesn't have the body of Rourke and even if he got more muscle, I doubt he would have the same look as a professional wrestler (or semi-professional).
I saw an interview where Cage explains that if he took the role, he would probably have to take steroids.
I just can't imagine Nicholas Cage on steroids.
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Last seen films:
Blue Valentine. 10/10
Moonrise Kingdom. 10/10
The Tree of Life. 9.5/10
Apparently you never saw Cage as Little Junior in Kiss of Death? He was completely yoked...
Look at what Robert DeNiro did to transform his body in Cape Fear?
If an actor has a role they really want, they have the time and the assistance to transform their body any way they want to.
Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?
Apparently you never saw Cage as Little Junior in Kiss of Death? He was completely yoked...
Look at what Robert DeNiro did to transform his body in Cape Fear?
If an actor has a role they really want, they have the time and the assistance to transform their body any way they want to.
Hey I agree, I don't think Cage would have been optimal or even any better than Rourke. I'm just saying if he wanted to, Cage surely could have gotten as "massive" as he needed to be for the role.
Look what Chris Evans did for Captain America
Or what Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Mackie did for Pain and Gain.
But for the whole enchilada - the believability of a broken down wrestler, Rourke was perfect.
Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?
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Now, PLEASE, another movie worth watching with Cage in it. What? Sorry? Err... come again? ...???
Joe was great too.
A fine actor in many terrible movies, but in some wonderful ones too.
His performance in Leaving Las Vegas was brilliant and earned him a well-deserved Oscar. It is actually sad that the bulk of his movies are mediocre at best, because he could be up there on par with Sean Penn and Russell Crowe.
shareI don't think that's very difficult to envision, you probably haven't seen Joe (2013) where he showed that he can play more subtle characters as well
However I think Mickey Rourke did very good and deserved the job
We don't have a dog. That was just some really violent sex.
It's funny but I was just thinking -- while watching the film -- who could have possibly replaced Mickey Rourke in the role if they had to go with another actor?
The thing is, I couldn't think of anyone remotely similar. It had to be someone broken down as a human being but with the body that used to be worth $1 million.
Stallone might have been able to pull it off, but he doesn't do dark characters like that. He would have had to have reached down deep. Bruce Willis has the attitude and character but certainly not the body or that life-on-the-edge physicality to make Randy "The Ram" believable.
And the thing about Nicolas Cage is that while he could play the down and out character, he doesn't have the grounded realism of Rourke to make you believe you're spending an hour and 50 or so minutes peering into the soul of someone could very well be a real person.
The story felt very personal, grounded and weighty, and even thought Cage did a decent job in Joe (though I think someone like Hugh Jackman could have turned that role into Oscar bait) Cage just wouldn't have brought the necessary gravitas to a role like The Wrestler.
Cage would actually be good at portraying a wash-up. But Mickey Rourke is spot on, mainly because this movie is a spoof of his actual career, peaking in the 80s and declining from there.
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