Jeff Goldblum's First Role Was A Villain In This Classic Action Film

Michael Winner's "Death Wish" was one of the more notorious films of the 1970s. Based on the novel by Brian Garfield, "Death Wish" was about a mild-mannered architect named Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) who lives in New York with his wife Joanna (Hope Lange) and his daughter Carol (Kathleen Tolan). It's set in the present day of 1974, so New York is depicted as a filthy cesspool of crime and danger. Thugs and creeps stalk the streets looking for potential victims, and audiences can sense right away that something awful is going to happen to Paul's family. 

And indeed, the film opens with an act of extreme violence. Joanna and Carol are stalked home by a trio of creeps who break into their apartment, aiming to rob them. When they don't get enough money, the creeps beat Joanna to death and sexually assault Carol. Carol will spend the rest of the movie in an institution, becoming catatonic and unable to recognize the depth of her trauma. Paul, meanwhile, will fall into a deep depression, becoming utterly disillusioned by humanity. He will eventually find solace in his violent revenge. Paul secures a gun and begins walking down dangerous alleyways at night, hoping to be mugged. He begins shooting his attackers. Then he murders muggers on the regular. Is Paul a hero for stopping crime, or just another killer in streets full of them? 

The trio of muggers at the beginning of the movie are credited as Freak #1, Freak #2, and Freak #3, but one of them may be recognizable. Freak #1 was played by Jeff Goldblum, in what was his feature film debut. His Freak co-stars were played by Christopher Logan and Gregory Rozakis. He didn't play a large part in "Death Wish," but his actions were the central impetus for the central drama of Winner's film. 

Like so many actors before him, Goldblum was bitten by the acting bug in high school. In 1969, when he was only 17, Goldblum moved from his hometown of West Homestead, Pennsylvania, to New York City to become a professional actor. He studied the craft with famed acting instructor Sanford Meisner at the noted Neighborhood Theater, a century-old playhouse on the Upper East Side. In 1971, he made his Broadway debut singing in the ensemble of a rock-musical version of Shakespeare's "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." That production starred Jonelle Allen and Raul Julia. One of Goldblum's ensemble compatriots was an on-the-rise Stockard Channing. That production ended up winning the Tony for Best Musical. 

Three years later, Goldblum made the jump to the big screen with "Death Wish." He's memorable in the movie, not just because his character is so horrid, but because he's a tall and striking man. That same year, Goldblum attracted the attention of director Robert Altman and was given a small role in his gambling buddy dramedy "California Split," starring Elliot Gould and George Segal. In 1975, Altman worked with Goldblum again, putting him in his expansive Oscar darling "Nashville." 

Goldblum had a fortunate habit of working with interesting directors. He acted for Paul Mazursky in "Next Stop, Greenwich Village," and with Woody Allen in "Annie Hall." He worked with Michael Winner again in the kooky horror film "The Sentinel." He played a notable role in the undersung disco flick "Thank God It's Friday," and a small role in Philip Kaufman's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." He began to really break through in the 1980s, however, with films like "The Big Chill" and "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension." Afterward, he was a recognizable cinematic mainstay and appeared in countless classics. His next film will be reprising his role as the Wizard of Oz in the sequel to "Wicked," called "Wicked: For Good." 

And to think, it all began with Freak #1.