Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg became one of the greats when he helmed the holocaust drama Schindler’s List. The harrowing tale of oppression, pain, and hope was headlined by a then-unknown Liam Neeson and received universal acclaim for its depiction of WWII. Spielberg won his first Oscar for Best Director for the film.
While Lian Neeson’s performance as the titular Oskar Schindler earned him an Academy Award nomination and cannot be imagined starring anyone else, many stars were reportedly interested in the role. One of them was reportedly Braveheart star Mel Gibson, who was considered by Spielberg but he had to reject him as he did not want a star to be in the lead.
Mel Gibson Was Considered For The Lead Role In Schindler’s List
Actor Mel Gibson has also received his share of Oscar glory when he starred and directed in the war drama Braveheart. The actor won the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Director for the film. It also won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Gibson was also nominated for the big category in 2016 for his war drama Hacksaw Ridge but went home empty-handed.
Three years before he won his Oscar for Braveheart, Mel Gibson reportedly had his eyes on another future Academy winner. The Lethal Weapon star was reportedly considered for the role of Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, agent Michael Ovitz mentioned that Gibson was considered for the lead role at one point.
Ovitz said that while Spielberg wanted a non-star to lead the film, the What Women Want star was also a suitable candidate for the role. He said,
“Mel Gibson’s name came up. He was interested. His agent put him forward. But it wasn’t going to happen. Steven wanted a non-movie star for the part.”
Despite the interest, Steven Spielberg chose to go with the then-relatively unknown Liam Neeson in the lead role. Liam Neeson mentioned that he had heard that other actors such as Harrison Ford and Kevin Costner were considered for the role, along with Australian actor Jack Thompson. However, Neeson ultimately gave the Oscar-nominated performance.
Mel Gibson’s inclusion in the film would have been ironic as the noted director and actor got embroiled in a controversy in 2006. According to People magazine, Mel Gibson was reportedly arrested on a DUI and was heard shouting anti-Semitic slurs at his officer.
Steven Spielberg Took Ten Years To Make Schindler’s List
Steven Spielberg began his ascent to becoming one of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers when he directed the war drama Schindler’s List. The legendary filmmaker reportedly worked on both Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List parallelly as his agent Michael Ovitz had to make sure that the film got made by Universal Studios in a package deal.
While celebrating the film’s thirty-year anniversary, Ovitz mentioned to The Hollywood Reporter that he got the idea to merge both films in the deal when his client Michael Crichton wrote the book,
“I got this crazy idea that I should attach Schindler’s List to the Jurassic Park deal, but I really couldn’t make it a “condition” of the deal. This is where it got really sticky and delicate…we said, ‘Look, we’ve got this movie, Schindler’s List. It’s about the Holocaust. It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be real. Steven wants to make it.’”
While the film gave all the glory to Steven Spielberg, even giving him his first Oscar, the filmmaker was reportedly apprehensive at first. The book, Schindler’s Ark, on which the film was based, was reportedly offered to the director by MCA President Sid Sheinberg after the success of E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial in 1982.
However, Spielberg was reportedly not confident about adapting the novel at first. He said,
“I hadn’t made what I’d call my first “adult” film, and I was terrified of Schindler’s List being my first, because what if I wasn’t mature enough? I was certain I wasn’t ready to deal with the gravitas of that subject matter, morally or cinematically…I went to Marty [Scorsese], and Marty was intrigued. It was Marty who hired Steve Zaillian.”
Steven Spielberg finally took on the task of making the film ten years after it was first offered to him. He mentioned that he felt ready to tackle the subject matter after he had made the films The Colour Purple and Empire of the Sun. The director reportedly did not even take a salary for the film, saying that it would be ‘blood money’.
