Interview/Actors and their Roles

I really loved reading the interview with William Wyler, the parts where he talked about casting in Double Indemnity I found especially interesting because it speaks to the evolution of acting in the time period. Wyler felt like he had to convince prominent actors to take on their roles in this movie because most actors were not comfortable being portrayed as villains in an age where comedies reigned supreme it was hard to risk ruining comedic image. Wyler talks about how Stanwick took the role and ran with it, something he was not necessarily expecting but loved. "You could wake her up in the middle of the night, and she'd know the lines--everyone's lines" She also embellished her murderess role even more than Wyler required and this added to the strength of the movie. Indemnity can potentially be seen as a transition by actors to become more willing to accept a controversial role.

Today if you think about it villains are no longer considered a bad thing to play, almost to the contrary one can really get even more credit for a performance that jumps out of your comfort zone. What Wyler told Fred McCmurray who was thinking about taking the role in Indemnity rings true "you're at a certain point where you either have to stop, or you have to jump over the river and try something new" I think of modern day performances of Hannibal Lector by Anthony Hopkins or The Joker by Heath Ledger as examples of actors who really went out of their potential comfort zone--this showed their range and proved that they actually could ACT not just read from scripts.