Casting What-Ifs
Alec Baldwin, Michael Douglas, Kevin Costner or Andy Garcia as Kimble; Jon Voight or Gene Hackman as Gerard; Walter Hill directing Nick Nolte
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:35Read transcript
- Alec Baldwin was the first choice to play Richard Kimble; he had also been first offered Ford's Patriot Games role, which suggests Baldwin had more juice than Ford in 1992-93.
- Baldwin reportedly wanted control of his career and too much money and did not want to be a franchise pawn; Patriot Games is contrasted with Hunt for Red October.
- A correction: this was not the end of Ford's heyday because Air Force One was still ahead; Six Days, Seven Nights, overshadowed by a controversy around its co-star, is called the real end.
- Michael Douglas, Kevin Costner and Andy Garcia were also considered for Kimble; only Costner is found believable because Kimble needs something wholesome, while Douglas and Baldwin seem like they might have done it.
- Jon Voight and Gene Hackman were both offered Sam Gerard, prompting a riff that Voight gets attached to many projects; Varsity Blues is teased for Zach Mack.
- Walter Hill wanted to direct with Nick Nolte, who thought he was too old; one participant would have loved a Walter Hill version but thinks it worked out.
- Ford is better the less he says; his doctor-talk scene with Julianne Moore almost pulls you out of the movie.