I haven't seen the movie yet and I have nothing against Michael Shannon but if I were to cast an actor to portray Richard Kuklinski, I would have chosen James Gandolfini for the role. He looks like him and we all know he can be a bad ass in his movies.
Any thoughts?
Gandolfini looks A LOT like Kuklinski, but no one wants to see Tony Soprano playing a mob hitman/serial killer.
shareThanks for the reply Scarfaith (love the name) but isn't the Sopranos a mob related show?...just sayin'
shareyes but the audience (speaking for myself anyway) would be confused wheather we are watching Kuklinski or Tony Soprano because Gandolfini played a mob guy for so many years, maybe i'm wrong i dunno...
shareit's exactly this reason why james gandolfini would refuse this role, he fights tooth and nail to not be typecast in gangster roles
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Not to mention James Gandolfini looks like Richard Kuklinski when we was incarcerated but Micheal Shannon would be playing Richard Kuklinski when we was in his prime(active hitman). But i watched the documentory and that's what i thought to myself too was THAT'S JAMES GANDOLFINI'S ROLE OF A LIFE TIME...but then i realize the time line wouldn't match his age and the story would be out of whack....i thought about how they should use James for like a Mock-umentary thing at the end of the film where they interview him and how he has no emotion...but then i realized that it would be best just to use the real footage of Richard.
sharegandalfini would not be a terrible choice but to pass him off as a pollack..cmon not a chance..who would believe that.???micheal shannon looks like the younger model kuklinski and is a gifted actor so im ok with him..
also i used to believe gandalfini was gonna be typecast post sopranos especially after i saw lonely hearts killers with him and travolta..he looked like tony soprano long island detective but after i seen him in welcome to the rileys with the really bad midwest accennt im positive nobody will ever see him as anything but Tony Soprano..he should embrace it and do every "major" mob movie that he can land..why not?? he's stellar as a gangster..
a favor is gonna kill you faster than a bullet...
carlito brigante
You got a point man. Incidentally I never saw this guy in the Gemini. I want to see this movie because I want to see liotta play Demeo. I heard a few years ago they wanted the guy from the titanic to play the starring part.
shareNope sorry, I'm as big of a sopranos fan as the next guy but Michael Shannon is perfect for this role. Few actors in Hollywood portray psychopaths as well as Shannon. After his epic performance in Take Shelter, I can't wait to see what he does with this.
shareOnly Gene Hackman or Anthony Hopkins could bring the necessary menace to the role.
shareI agree with your actors' choice however, Gandolfini looks so much like him including his mafioso roles that to me would he have been the best choice. I do understand that looks are not "that" important.
On a side note, I always thought that Brad Pitt would have made a better look-alike "and" actor to portray in (James Dean -2001) (in comparison to James Franco) but...that's another story and thread....and me ;)
Thanks for replying.
J-P
I studied the Iceman during my graduate degree in criminology. The reason why Shannon was picked over Gandolfini, and the reason Kuklinski was called The Iceman, was his pure and over the top sociopathy. Watch The Iceman documentary, and you will see what I mean. It can be found anywhere online. He killed whole families and did away with the bodies and the evidence, and then spoke about it like he was talking about his golf game or going out to dinner with his wife. There is no other actor that I have seen that can be as emotionless as Shannon. His body language and monotone voice are perfect for the Iceman. Gandolfini couldn't do the blank face for the Iceman because his body language shows through too much. The Sopranos was perfect for him because he was the typical Italian mobster that we think of: charismatic, full of emotion, loud and brash. Kuklinkski spoke very little and was never the typical mobster. He was more of a actual mercenary, closer to a "Hitman" like character, completely cold, calculating, intelligent, and ruthless.
shareI respect your input and I thank you for it however, Gandolfini is nonetheless a gifted actor. I'm sure he can play the role of a character that has no emotions. I don't see why Shannon is a better actor in this case. There's olso the lingering fact that everybody has loved Gandolfini as a Soprano throughout all these years most likely killed his chance for this role. But that's just my opinion.
Thanks again... very interesting comment.
Gandolfini is certainly a good actor, but he would be a terrible, terrible fit.
Shannon, strange mannerisms and expressions aside, is far closer in the demeanor as far as the real guy goes. You can see a prison interview of Kuklinski on Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv4c3flhSaU "The Iceman Confessions".
When you realize all the horrible and terrible things Kuklinski did, and look at how he talks about it when they're interviewing him, it's pretty clear that there's something deeply wrong with the man. Gandolfini is a funny guy, but as far as conveying that deep-seated sociopathic mindset you see in the footage of Kuklinski, he'd never pull it off in a million years.
That's part of what makes it something that sucks you in - this guy, who looks normal, like an old football player gone to seed - going over things a thousand times worse than anything out of a horror movie. That he did, and kept on doing for decades. You could cast Ahhhnold as a ballerina, but it's going to be unintentionally funny at the end of the day.
I doubt that was the feel reason. if you study. they you would also know that Richard wasnt a fairly large man till later in life. after he was doing hit jobs for awhile
shareAgreed. I too watched the interviews. The real RK is so relaxed and quietly spoken you expect him to fall asleep at any moment. Gandolfini is a force of nature, a bear of a man - whether in Fallen, 8MM or anything else - you expect to erupt on screen at any moment. The idea of still waters running deep, that we should 'beware the fury of a quiet man' [as Dryden put it], simply doesn't apply. It's the contrast between the exterior personality and what he does for a living that makes him so terrifying remember. Casey Affleck got this across well in 'The Killer Inside Me' [remember the scene where he stopped to read the paper while kicking a woman to death?]. As had been said before, it's often the banality of evil that takes your breath away.
sharehe refused to kill women and children????? i dont know what you're talking about killng whole families, he even killed one of his friends for asking him to kill his wife and child Robert "mr. freezer" Pronge
he even killed a drug dealer for having a bunch of kids in his basement for his clientele to play with, then risked exposure and let the little ones go. he had a thing for helpless women and for children. but no problem killing men..
shareJG can do wahtever he wants. He's had plenty of time in the sun. Shannon's day is just beginning.
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I'm glad that they didn't choose Gandolfini for the lead role. He's been a hitman way too many times already. Not that he isn't good at doing that, but it does get kind of monotonous.
[Never trust anyone that posts on only one IMDB board.]
I understand the whole typecast situation, but I believe this film would have been different. Upon watching the real documentaries and video footage of Richard Kuklinski, it is shocking how much Gandolfini looks like him. They even sound similar and portray similar mannerisms. I'm thinking of Gandolfini in his Sopranos role, there is even a rumour that Tony Soprano was loosely based on the guy. Gandolfini would have been a perfect fit.
shareYay! Finally! someone who agrees with me LOL! Thanks for your feedback.
shareSaw the film yesterday, and to say the least, you will be very pleased (no surprise) with Shannon's performance. He's excellent.
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Looking forward to seeing it. Thanks for the update!
shareI am not a fan of movies in which actors are cast who look nothing like the principal real-life characters they're portraying. If you know a little bit about the real-life story- as I do- it suspends believability to a degree, no matter how good the actor is.
Whether its Gandolfini or someone else, another actor who has some basic similarities to the principal character should have been given the title role. And that's not a knock on Michael Shannon.
My casting choice would have been Brian Dennehy.
Brian Dennehy would have been another good choice...I hadn't thought of him at all but Brian has aged a bit recently.
http://www.starscolor.com/imgs/1109-brian-dennehy-2.html
thankfully your not in charge of casting any films. get out of the 80`s and 90`s. who would you like to play the next superman? dean cain?
"If guns kill people then pencils misspell words"
Your post is ridiculous and of course misses the point entirely just so you can be a stupid ass and make a facetious remark. The point is simple: When an actor is cast that looks ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like the principal character in a well-known, true life story, it makes it less authentic and thus, less believable for the viewer. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you wouldn't have Robert DeNiro play the title role in the John Belushi story.
I've seen news footage and several hours of video on Richard Kuklinski. Having Michael Shannon play him is a bad job of casting- period.
lol! easy tiger. too bad because micheal shannon is what youve got and from what ive seen so far he is terrific in the role.
Your post had some valid points and i respect that. Now go home and get your *beep* shine box!
You got me, janeefive with that comeback! Freakin' love that line & love that movie!
janeefive-1 1
ramsfan 0
yeah great flick. its actually my new sig lol! how about we call it even and you give mr. shannon a chance?
Your post had some valid points and i respect that. Now go home and get your *beep* shine box!
We'll call it even. And I WILL watch the movie- being born and raised in New Jersey I'm very familiar with the Kuklinski case and find it interesting.
shareI don't think it detracts from the story or the authenticity too much if the actor doesn't look exactly like the character he's portraying.
Some examples that come to mind would be Samuel Jackson doesn't look like Coach Carter, The Rock doesn't look like that guy from Gridiron Gang, Ray Liotta doesn't look like Henry Hill, Johnny Depp doesn't look like George Jung, Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't look like Frank William Abagnale Jr, Robert De Niro doesn't look like Frank Rosenthal and there are countless other examples I could give you but I couldn't be bothered.
Ironically some people are also saying that James Gandolfini should of been cast as Enoch Thompson in Boardwalk Empire because he looks much more like his real life counterpart than Steve Buscemi does but Steve is doing a fantastic job, do I think it makes his story any less believable or authentic, not at all.
I think Michael Shannon is a fantastic actor and trust he will do the role justice but I think James Gandolfini would have done a superb job as well, I'd be pleased either way with the casting.
I do think that Michael Shannon actually looks a lot like Kuklinski did in that period of his life, Kuklinski probably looks more like James Gandolfini when he got older, like in the infamous HBO interviews but when he was a much younger man, he resembled Michael Shannon much more closely.
Enoch Johnson
shareI am not a fan of movies in which actors are cast who look nothing like the principal real-life characters they're portraying. If you know a little bit about the real-life story- as I do- it suspends believability to a degree, no matter how good the actor is.