Casting David Lynch As John Ford In The Fabelmans Wasn't Steven Spielberg's Idea
"The Fabelmans" tells the tale of Steven Spielberg's childhood, how he found his love of movies, and how he eventually got introduced into the harsh world of the film business. Spielberg's first meeting with world-renowned director John Ford is a huge part of his legend. Ford was an incomparable character, and Spielberg knew that whoever would play him had to be just as unique as Ford was. The filmmaker eventually cast David Lynch, and it's hard to imagine Ford being played by anyone else. But, believe it or not, Lynch wasn't Spielberg's first choice for the part — in fact, it wasn't Spielberg's idea in the first place.
The "Jaws" director has worked with screenwriter Tony Kushner on every film since his 2005 thriller "Munich." Kushner was previously a popular playwright, having penned "Angels in America." He has been collaborating more or less exclusively with Spielberg for decades, with screenwriting credits including "Lincoln" and the "West Side Story" reboot. Casting for their latest project "The Fabelmans" was a collaborative effort between Kushner and Spielberg, the writer revealed to The Film Stage.
"We often say, when we're getting into casting, 'Who's going to play this person?' Sometimes we sort of know, but a lot of times, in the four movies that we've made, it hasn't been determined. We said that when we were working on the Ford scene. We just sort of said, 'we'll find somebody.' And we started going through lots of really wonderful actors who kind of looked like him and were maybe a little too young — nothing was all that exciting."
Both were totally at a loss when Kushner's husband stepped in with the perfect suggestion.
It was the screenwriter's husband Mark Harris who thought of Lynch
Spielberg wasn't totally set on his casting for the role of John Ford, an incredibly important part that would drive a pivotal scene at the end of the film, but he didn't imagine Lynch playing the part — at first.
"I had an actor in mind — I won't mention who it is, he's a friend of mine — to play John Ford," the director revealed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. "And then Tony Kutcher's husband, Mark Harris, said, 'What about David Lynch?'" Kushner was instantly excited by the idea and didn't hesitate to bring it to the "Jurassic Park" director's attention.
"Tony called me so excited and said, 'You know what Mark just suggested? Who Mark just suggested? David Lynch!'" Spielberg recalled. "And the light bulbs went off the second I heard that name. I went, 'Oh my god, Mark is so right.' And so I called David."
The way Kushner remembers it, landing Lynch on the cast wasn't quite so simple. Spielberg has major pull in Hollywood, but Lynch isn't a cash-grab kind of guy and doesn't do a lot of acting outside of his own films. Harris knew right away that the "Blue Velvet" director would be reluctant to join the cast of "The Fabelmans"
"[Harris] said, 'I have a great idea,'" Kushner told The Film Stage. "'It'll never happen because he'll never agree to do it but it should be David Lynch.'" Kushner was on board, but he agreed that Lynch would be a difficult get — and so did Spielberg. "I thought, 'Oh my God.' And I called Steven [Spielberg] and Steven said, 'Oh my God ... but he'll never do it.'"
Or so he thought.
Spielberg went through Laura Dern to get Lynch to sign on
When Kushner's husband suggested Lynch for the part of John Ford, Spielberg thought it was a great idea, but he worried that the eccentric filmmaker would turn the role down. He had to think of a way to appeal to Lynch without scaring him off.
"And then he thought: Laura Dern," Kushner recalled. "So he called Laura Dern and Laura Dern called David [Lynch]. And it happened." So, the "Mulholland Drive" director agreed to star in "The Fabelmans" with the help of acclaimed actress and "Jurassic Park" star Laura Dern. But apparently Lynch had one crazy condition before he agreed to take the part.
"He says, 'I decided I am going to do this under one condition,'" Spielberg revealed at a DGA Q&A (via The Film Stage) "[He said], 'I want to get the costume two weeks ahead of time to live in for two weeks. I want to break down the costume.' I said, 'You mean you are going to wear it?' He said, 'Yes, every day. Every day. The patch, the hat, everything else. Send it to me.' And he showed up in a pretty ratty costume. But it was the way John Ford was."
Lynch gives an incredible performance as the aggressive and enigmatic Ford. It's an incredible viewing experience and, according to Kushner, it was also a fun scene to shoot.
"Yeah, it was an amazing day on the set," the screenwriter confirmed. "The whole crew was like, 'This is the most meta, complicated thing: Steven Spielberg directing Gabriel LaBelle playing Steven Spielberg meeting John Ford played by David Lynch.' It was like... wow!"
There's no question that Lynch played the perfect Ford, but a Spielberg fan has to wonder, who did he have in mind before he reached out to Lynch? Will we never know?