Just now it became known that Dustin Hoffman wanted to do David Lynch’s The Elephant Man, but was turned down

It is known that the debut of David Lynchin 1977 with eraser it is, as the specialized media have said Film, “a humid and horrible image, full of surreal things and themes of urban decay, suicidal ideation and parental resentment”.

Unbearable: dreams within dreams, smoke, disorder, scenes full of bodily fluids. Out of the blue, what followed in his career was probably the most readable Lynch film of his entire career: in 1980 he made The elephant man.

And who was behind the project? Nothing less than Mel Brooks (yes, that Mel Brooks, the comedian). The elephant man It was about real life Joseph Merrick (called John in the film), a man with proteusas some have speculated.

Merrick had an enlarged head, an outer right arm, and loose, tumor-filled skin.. He was a freak circus performer. His cruel tamers decided the boy was mentally ill.

An English doctor named Frederick Treves was able to study his condition and in doing so found Merrick “brilliant, kind and spiritual”.

The protagonist of the film

The card of John Merrick was, according to a 2020 retrospective in iNews, highly coveted on the front page of Hollywood. Several high-profile actors wanted the role they would ultimately go to John Wounded (which, at the time, had recently appeared on Alienby Ridley Scott).

In fact, one of the most famous actors in Hollywood, Dustin Hoffmannwho was already surrounded by glory for Kramer vs. Kramerwas initially on the list of finalist actors.

Hoffman was interested in playing Merrick and was able to contact Mel Brooks. A manufacturer of The elephant manJonathan Sanger remembers rejecting the idea outright. Sanger felt it Hoffman was too big a movie star for a role that required a great deal of makeup.

“Someone with an instantly recognizable face would automatically make the makeup unrealistic.” Sanger knew audiences would not see John Merrick, but Dustin Hoffman in makeup.

Meanwhile, Lynch wanted his friend Jack Nance make the card. Nance had just spent five years doing eraser with Lynch (he played the main character in that film, Henry Spencer) and the two had become quite friendly.

However, during the casting process, Lynch saw the 1975 film version of The naked public officialthe autobiography of the queer icon Quentin Crisp. John Hurt played Crisp in that movie and Lynch immediately decided to offer him the role.

Multicandidate

The film was nominated for eight Academy AwardsIncluded Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor. He won zero. The best film winner that year was people as oneby Robert Redford.

However, the film won Best Film and Best Actor at the British Academy Awards, as well as the César Award for best foreign film. According to Moviein 2022 it could be considered “David Lynch’s most emotionally moving film“.

mfb