Before the production of “Red Nerves” was finally entrusted to Martin Scorsese, it was Steven Spielberg who was to direct the film, with Bill Murray in the role of the terrifying Max Cady.
If we sometimes forget to mention it among Martin Scorsese’s essentials, Nerves, a high-tension legal thriller released in the mid-90s, offered Robert de Niro one of his most chilling roles. Playing a sadistic predator recently released from prison, sporting terrifying tattoos for the occasion, he made life difficult for Nick Nolte’s character and the latter’s family.
Answering the name of Max Cady, the terrible criminal almost wore a completely different face than that of De Niro. Indeed, as recently recalled in an article from Far Out magazine, before landing in the hands of Martin Scorsese, it was on Steven Spielberg’s desk that the script for Nerves was found. And the latter considered offering the role of Cady to… Bill Murray.
A rather surprising choice given that the actor was rather known for playing completely different characters, in lighter projects such as Ghostbusters or Endless Day.
Warner Bros.
The director of ET and Jaws finally decided to pass: “I wasn’t in that mindset, it’s as simple as that. I just couldn’t find it in myself to make a scary movie about a family being chased by a madman.”he declared, still according to Far Out.
The project was therefore taken over by Scorsese, who took the opportunity to entrust the character of Max Cady to an actor he already knew very well: the charismatic Robert de Niro, with whom he had already filmed six times (in Mean Streets , Taxi Driver, New York New York, Raging Bull, La Valse des Pantins and Goodfellas).
In your opinion, would Bill Murray (also very talented but much less accustomed to this type of role) have given a credible Max Cady?
(Re)discover the hidden details of the film…