This Forgotten '70s Movie Cast Anthony Hopkins Because Jack Nicholson Refused To Wear A Wig

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Richard Attenborough's 1978 horror movie "Magic" will chill your bones. The film stars Anthony Hopkins as Corky Withers, a timid and kinda pathetic failing magician who needs a gimmick to make his career take off. Thus, Corky strikes upon the idea to incorporate a ventriloquist dummy — one he names Fats — into his act. Fats is, like most ventriloquist dummies, a crass and foulmouthed counterpart to his performer's better-behaved persona, and the act is instantly a hit. Corky gets a TV offer right away. 

He turns it down, however, because he knows the truth. To go on TV, he'd have to take a health exam, and Corky knows that he is mentally ill. Fats, you see, is a manifestation of his least savory impulses. And, most chillingly, Fats seems to be able to speak through Corky without his control. Corky then attempts to foster a romance with an old flame named Peggy (Ann-Margaret), which angers Peggy's husband ... and Fats. As one might predict, Corky begins losing control of Fats more and more until Fats appears to be the one giving the orders ... and the bodies start piling up.

Hopkins gives a great horror performance in "Magic," which allowed him to prove that he was capable of terrifying audiences long before "The Silence of the Lambs." Of course, he had already been acting in movies for a decade by then and had just come off the 1977 horror film "Audrey Rose," so he was a pro.

But he almost wasn't in the movie. According to the behind-the-scenes documentary on the "Magic" DVD ("Magic: Fats & Friends," as directed by David Gregory), Jack Nicholson was initially approached to play Corky. He turned the role down, though, after he refused to wear a hairpiece. 

In "Magic: Fats & Friends," professional ventriloquist Dennis Allwood talks about the movie, having served as its ventriloquism consultant (although he is credited merely as "additional crew"). There is even some vintage interview footage in "Fast & Friends" of Anthony Hopkins calling out Allwood by name. It was Allwood who gave the skinny for the doc. He explained that the late filmmaking legend Norman Jewison ("Fiddler on the Roof," "Rollerball") had been hired to direct "Magic," and he was the one who wanted to hire Jack Nicholson. At the time, Nicholson had just appeared in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," so it's likely Jewison saw Nicholson as being adept at playing someone struggling with mental health issues.

Nicholson, however, would have been required to wear a wig since his hair was thinning, and it seems that the film's creatives wanted a full head of hair on their lead actor. Eventually, Jewison dropped out, so there was a brief moment when "Magic" had no star and no director.

What's more, it turns out that  Laurence Olivier was approached to play Corky's agent, Ben, the role that ultimately went to Burgess Meredith. Allwood also said that many names were floated for the role of Corky, including Al Pacino, Gene Wilder, and Chevy Chase. None of these people were in talks for the role, mind you. This was just spitballing from casting directors. It wasn't until Richard Attenborough was brought on to direct that Anthony Hopkins was considered. Attenborough and Hopkins had recently worked together on the films "A Bridge Too Far" and "Young Winston," so they had a good working relationship. All Hopkins needed to do was work on his American accent, and, in Allwood's words, "lose a little weight."

In Eila Montomery's book "Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory of Actors Considered for Roles Given to Others," it's stated very briefly that Steven Spielberg eyed "Magic" as his follow-up to "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." That book also notes that if Spielberg had, in fact, come aboard, he would have pursued Robert De Niro to play Corky. De Niro, however, was very busy at the time, having only barely made "Taxi Driver," "1900," and "The Last Tycoon," followed by the musical "New York, New York." He was also likely shooting "The Deer Hunter" at about that time, which was released the same year as "Magic."

No doubt, people like Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, and De Niro would have given strong, intense performances in a horror movie like "Magic." Heck, Gene Wilder might have been sublime, as he was capable of expressing dark panic beneath his comedic performances; his rage in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" would have been perfectly suited to a horror flick. Nevertheless, Hopkins was the right choice, as none of those other actors listed here (Wilder notwithstanding) could have captured the quiet, pathetic timidity that the role of Corky required.

Attenborough, surprisingly, moved straight from "Magic" to directing the 1982 Oscar darling "Gandhi." Meanwhile, Hopkins starred in the horse picture "International Velvet" the same year that "Magic" came out and then worked with David Lynch on 1980's "The Elephant Man" (though Hopkins and Lynch didn't get along). Deep-cut horror fans know all about "Magic. Indeed, your cinephile uncle who's always recommending spooky movies to you has likely seen it. In this case, you should definitely take his recommendation, especially with Sam Raimi now gearing up to direct a "Magic" remake.