Small parts but no small actors in ‘Argo’
Affleck fills in the cast with some familiar faces from the 1970s
One of the lessons Ben Affleck says he learned on his way to becoming a director is, “Cast every part like it was the lead in the movie.”
Given that Argo — his third time at bat — has more than 120 speaking parts in three locales ( Washington, Los Angeles and Tehran) as it tells the true story of how six American diplomats escaped from Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis, that is a tall order.
But one of the pleasures of this cross between a political thriller and a Hollywood satire, which held up well in its second week in theaters on its way to a total of $43 million so far, are the many familiar faces who stand out even in smaller roles.
Affleck headlines as the CIA operative behind the covert operation, along with John Goodman as a make- up artist and Alan Arkin as an old-school-gruff producer, both of whom help create the illusion that the six diplomats are a crew for a fake scifi flick titled Argo.
Below that is an ace backup team of popular actors from TV: Bryan Cranston ( Breaking Bad) as a CIA officer; Kyle Chandler ( Friday Night Lights) as Hamilton Jordan, President Carter’s chief of staff; Clea DuVall ( Carnivale) as one of the diplomats; and Victor Garber ( Alias) as Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor, who harbored the refugees in his home.
“Ben loves actors,” says Lora Kennedy, head of feature casting for Warner Bros., who also put together the ensemble for Affleck’s previous movie, 2010’s The Town. “I don’t like people who don’t love actors.”
Kennedy says Argo was the biggest casting challenge she has faced in a career that includes Cloud Atlas, opening Friday, and the upcoming Superman reboot Man of Steel.
“I was working until the last day of filming.”
No wonder. There is an even deeper layer of TV-related performers that sharp-eyed Baby Boomers might recognize on the screen:
Adrienne Barbeau,
67, plays Arkin’s ex-wife, who does an Argo table reading as Serksi the Galactic Witch. The statuesque brunette from the ’70s sitcom Maude also is known for her work in such cult horror films as The Fog and Swamp Thing, as well as such B classics as Escape From New York.
Says Affleck: “Lora said, ‘Adrienne Barbeau — she is great, you’ve got to get her,’ and I said, ‘Really?’ But I liked the idea of her being part of this slightly kitsch, ’70s sci-fi-movie vibe. She just seamlessly blended in.”
Dawn Wells, who was Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island, came close to getting the part. When she auditioned, Kennedy says, “she left a wake of men going, ‘Oh, my God, I had such a huge crush on her.’ ”
Michael Parks, 72, is comicbook artist Jack Kirby, who drew Argo’s storyboards. The motorcycleriding star of the late ’60s series Then Came Bronson is a fave of Quentin Tarantino ( Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and 2) and Robert Rodriguez ( From Dusk to
Dawn). “He was like James Dean,” Affleck says. “He’s sexy and amazing and a really good actor. I saw him in Kevin Smith’s Red State as this crazy preacher.”
Kennedy adds: “Kirby was eccentric-looking, and Michael could be believable. You don’t have time to establish a character, so you have to have the actor do it with his face.”
Affleck regrettably had to trim Parks’ role but struggled to keep as much of his scene as possible. “I couldn’t bear to lose it.”
Barry Livingston, 58, plays one of the CIA suits who is skeptical of the fake film proposed by Affleck’s agent. The former kid actor is best known as the nerdy Ernie on
My Three Sons in the ’60s and early ’70s. He has also written a memoir, The Importance of Being Ernie.
“I needed 80 white dudes between the ages of 40 and 60,” says Kennedy. “I was looking for great faces. And Barry has a really great face.” Livingston was thrilled to be in
Argo, especially since his original role, a congressman, was eliminated. His part still suffered from shrinkage, but he does get some lines. “I knew that since Ben was in that scene, it wouldn’t be cut,” he says. A bonus: “There is a close-up of me with long Neil Young sideburns.”