Actor Jack Nicholson is one of the most prolific veterans working today. He is known for his eccentric roles such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Shining, and more recently The Departed. Nicholson was also part of some of the landmark films that changed the way American films were made, back in the 70s. One of them was the biker film Easy Rider.
The road-crime film was directed by Dennis Hopper and starred Hopper, Nicholson, and Peter Fonda, who produced the film. The film became a cultural blockbuster, depicting the fragmented American landscape after the Vietnam War. The film was known for its experimental filmmaking and was notorious for its behind-the-scenes stories. One of them was Nicholson’s co-star Dennis Hopper being threatened because of his long hair.
How Did Jack Nicholson Get Cast In Easy Rider?
The biker film Easy Rider was considered to be a breakthrough role for Jack Nicholson, who up until then had only been cast in minor roles. The actor started his career as an office worker at MGM Cartoon Studio and rejected the chance to become an animator to pursue his passion for acting.
After playing roles on the stage and on TV, the actor started appearing in minor roles in feature films. His most known roles were with director Roger Corman, who directed him in films like The Raven, The Terror, and The Little Shop of Horrors. Nicholson also tried his hand at screenwriting when he wrote the screenplay for the biker film The Trip which starred Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda. The film was a countercultural milestone and was a huge success.
Jack Nicholson was cast in Easy Rider after Dennis Hopper, who also directed the film, had an altercation with the original choice, actor Rip Torn. Hopper allegedly started complaining about the Texas natives, which offended Torn who had roots in Texas. This led to a fight between the two, with Hopper reportedly pulling out a knife. Torn withdrew from the project and Nicholson was ultimately cast as George Hanson, an alcoholic lawyer who tags along with freewheeling motorcyclists Billy and Wyatt, played by Hopper and Fonda respectively.
Dennis Hopper’s Run-In With The Locals While Shooting The Film
The Jack Nicholson starrer Easy Rider was shot in a very experimental and independent style. For starters, the film only had a budget of $360,000 to $400,000, which was funded by Peter Fonda himself. They did not have a finished screenplay and only had a plot structure which they wrote along with screenwriter Terry Southern, who also came up with the title.
Many stories have surfaced about the production of the film. The film was shot mostly on the go with a limited production crew. Hopper decided to use mostly natural lighting in the exterior scenes, and in some of the sequences involving drugs, they used real drugs and substances.
However, one of the most interesting stories is the threats Hopper received even before shooting. While they were not directed at Hopper personally, it was his attire that caused the problems. Hopper recounted the experience in an interview,
“When we got to New Orleans it was really dangerous because there were these marines who wanted to take me apart because I had long hair…You’d hear a lot of stories at that time of guys getting cut with razors and things. It was so bad that we skipped going to Texas.”
The film was shot during the later stages of the Vietnam War and the decline of the ‘Summer of Love’ counterculture movement. The hippie movement, which was rampant during that time was not appreciated in the southern parts of the country. Hence, Hopper’s attire as well as the film’s counterculture themes caused quite a bit of issues. However, they all seemed to be worth it as the film was a huge success, earning over $60 million at the box office. It also launched the career of Jack Nicholson and revived the declining career of Dennis Hopper.
Source: Interview Magazine
