- jeremy Spenser, The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone, 1961. “Why are you looking so nervous?” director Elia Kazan asked Olly during his audition at London’s Dorchester Hotel. “You’re Mr Kazan – that’s why!” He didn’t become The Young Man and Mr Kazan never made the film, passing the Tennessee Williams project to fellow Broadway director José Quintero. He saw Two other young Brits and Spenser was a year older than Terence Stamp. Olly had won his first credited roles a few months earlier in The Rebel – and Term of Trial with the Illustrious Laurence Olivier. Spenser, however, had already completed the rare double of acting opposite both Oliviers – Vivien Leigh, here as Mrs Stone, and her husband in The Prince and the Showgirl, in 1956. The girl being… Marilyn Monroe. (Beat that, Olly!).
- Alfred Lynch, West 11, 1963. Young director Michael Winner’s producer, Danny Angel, said Reed wasn’t good enough. “I wasn’t too upset… because he also turned down Julie Christie!” (And Sean Connery). Winner promised to use them once he had more control. He never landed Connery or Christie but made five movies with Reed… rescuing him from the doldrums of London casting. As I wrote for the French film magazine, Cinemonde, in those days, Reed once asked me: “Whaddyer think? Would I have better luck in Paris? They like ugly guys is France. Look at Belmondo!”
- George Lazenby, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1969.
- Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange, 1970. After Mick Jagger’s interest (with the other Stones as his droogs) came and went, first Italian maestro Tinto Brass – then Ken Russell was keen on adapting the Anthony Burgess novel. With Reed as the thuggish Alex. Obviously. Stanley Kubrick delayed his version until finding the right leading thug. Once he saw Lindsey Anderson’ s Ifin 1968, he told his wife: “We’ve found our Alex.”And if McDowell hadn’t been available, “I probably wouldn’t have made the film.”(Stanley Kubrick’s versionused the same Dutch sulptures and paintings featured by Brass in Dropoutthe year before).
- Patrick McGoohan, Mary, Queen of Scots, 1971. Mia Farrow was to be queen, with Olly as her brother and regent before Universal began musical executive-chairs.
- Robert Shaw, The Sting, 1973. Reed played the part in the (empty) sequel .Olly called himself “a boozy ram.” The doctor examined him on the set of Castaway, 1985, and pronounced he had more alcohol in his blood than blood.
- Roy Scheider, Jaws, 1974.
- John Huston, Sherlock Holmes in New York, TV, 1976. Roger Moore agreed to the idea of Reed as the villainous Professor Moriarty. Reed did not. He told Moore: “You once said to me: Stick to playing villains because you can’t do comedy. Well, I’ve just done a comedy and I was brilliant. So I don’t think I want to play your Moriarty.” Now if you can’t get Reed who do you go for? John Huston! (Go figure). Then again, he has more gravitas than Mount Rushmore. Moore played Sherlock during his Bond days
- Donald Sutherland, Novocento/1900, 1976. Wasn’t a comedy, either… Nude wrestling for director Ken Russell was one thing.Sodomising a young boy – no way, José.
- Jean-Louis Trintignant, Malevil, France, 1980. Due to have been the pitiless, hardline Fulbert in the1976 plans.
- Nicholas Clay, Lady Chatterly’s Lover, 1980. A year earlier, Hollywood backers had chosen him as Mellors opposite Sarah Miles – until realising DH Lawrence did not write Beauty and the Beast. Chatting up Olly to be Mellors then became a Cannon ploy to try and get his pal, Ken Russell, to direct. They had famously tackled another DH Lawrence book, Women In Love, 1968. Ian McShane’s new lady objected to him sharing sex scenes with his ex-lover, Sylvia Kristel, and so Clay became the world’s most famous gamekeeper, In 1993, Russell made his own Lady C as a BBC TV mini-series with Joely Richardson and Sean Bean as the lovers.
- Richard Harris, Tarzan, The Ape Man, 1980.
- Anthony Hopkins, The Bounty, 1983. “Terribly impressed” with Olly’s AthosinRichard Lester’s pair ofThree Musketeers films, iconic director David Lean chose Reed to be the third Captain Bligh in his two-film plans, before Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis blew them out of the water and went for a cheaper, single version. “It was butchered,” said Lean. “I hadn’t theheart to see it.” Reed’s uncle, Sir Carol Reed, had started the previous Brando version in 1962.
- John Gielgud, Appointment With Death, 1987. For the first time in his 83 years, Sir John inherited a role first offered to Olly Reed, aged 49…!!. “A a rather absurd part in an Agatha Christie,” Sir Jhn wrote to Irene Worth. “Peter Ustinov and Betty Bacall are to be in it and possibly Michael York, so it might be fun, even with that vulgar, but quite funny director, Michael Winner.” It was worse. During a scene between Gielgud and Ustinov, in his third and final outing as Hercule Poirot, a band played “The Liberty Bell March” -aka the Monty Python signature tune. Says it all! Well, Lauren Bacall said more. None of it good.
- David Hemmings, The Rainbow, 1989. Ken Russell’s sequel to his Women In Love, 1969, boasted two of the original cast (GlendaJackson, Christopher Gable) and nearly collected another when Ken called up Reed after Elton John backed away from playing Uncle Henry. Except Olly was too busy Athosing away in third Muskeeters film.
- Alan Rickman, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1990. As Rickman kept passing, the Sheriff of Nottingham was offered to Reed, Jon Finch, Michael Gambon, Richard E Grant, Ian McKellen, Sam Neill, Patrick Stewart… even John Cleese. Then, Rickman won the right to play him his way, stealing much more than Robin, which had Kevin Costner allegedly, ordering the curtailing of the Sheriff’s scenes.
- George Murcell, Cutthroat Island, 1995. In his later, bearded, plumpyears he greatly resembled Edward VII, though no one noticed or was motivated by it. And so, there the old sod was, being sacked for bar fighting and mooning the star (Geena Davis) and being replaced as Mordachai Fingers by the veteran UK baddy in his 77th and final screen role. And Reed died four years later.
- Christopher Plummer, Beginners, 2009. The aged father who came out of (Geena Davis) and being replaced as Mordachai Fingers by the veteran UK baddy in his 77th and final screen role. Reed died four years later.
Souvenir>>>
I ran into Olly during the (very) early 60s when I was the London correspondent for the French film magazine, Cinémonde. And he asked me, quite seriously: ‘Not doing much here, so should I I try my lot in France? They seem to go for ugly buggers over there – y’know like Belmondo”
He didn’t go. Things improved in the UK – working with Hammer Films, Ken Russell, Michael Winner. But not all, his co-stars were fans. After working with him in Burnt Offerings, 1975, Bette Davis said Oliver Reed was “possibly one of the most loathesome human beings I have ever had the misfortune of meeting”.
Birth year: 1938Death year: 1999Other name: Casting Calls: 18