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Timothy Hutton, Ordinary People, 1980. Novelist Judith Guest’s anatomy of a family more in pain than love reminded Robert Redford of “the missed signals” of his own upbringing, – it became his directing debut. For the son of the Jarrett famlly, he looked at Emilio, Michael J Fox and Sean Penn,. But it was Hutton who won an Oscar for his debut.
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Rob Lowe, The Outsiders, 1982. After intensive ensemble casting sessions tests for Francis Coppola as his Zoetrope Studios, it was off to New York to audition anew as Sodapop…
- Darren Dalton, The Outsiders, 1982. … and for Rand…
- Patrick Swayze, The Outsiders, 1982. And for Darrel, too, why not? Result: He was a last minute choice for Two-Bit Matthews, a pal of the Curtis greaser brothers.
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Ralph Macchio, The Karate Kid, 1983. The surprise hit had been aimed at Nicolas Cage, Jim Carrey, Tom Cruise, Jon Cryer, Robert Downey Jr, Kyle Eastwood, Anthony Edwards, Crispin Glover, Sean Penn, Eric Stoltz, brothers Emilio Esteves and Charlie Sheen and the Initialers Michael J Fox, C Thomas Howell, D B Sweeney. At 22, looking 16, Macchio made Daniel LaRusso (ex-Weber) his own in four films and two video-games… and named his son Daniel. The Character is claimed by many but was based on the early life of scenarist Robert Mark Kamen. “It’s a great coming-of-age story,,” said Macchio. And 40 years later, and people still stop him in the street to quote dialogue at him.
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Zach Galligan, Gremlins, 1983. For a wee while, Billy Peltzer was tossed about between Estevez and Judd Nelson before being similarly tossed about by what critic Roger Ebert called “a plague of reprehensible little beasties who behave like a rodent road company of Marlon Brando’s motorcycle gang in The Wild One.”
- Judd Nelson, The Breakfast Club, 1984. Booked as Bender until writer-director John Hughes ran in to a brick wall trying to cast Clark.
- Patrick Swayze, Red Dawn, 1985. The role was a tough one: Charlie Sheen’s older brother. Emilio is Charlie’s older brother. “But we have totally different looks,” says Charlie, “we’re not physically the same type.” And Emilio had another gig.
- C Thomas Howell, The Hitcher, 1985. Our young hero (who finds finds an amputated finger in his french fries) could have been Estevez, Tom Cruise, Matthew Modine, or Emilio’s bro, Charlie Sheen – instead of Howell, scared stiff by the titular Rutger Hauer.
- Jason Gedrick, Iron Eagle, 1985. Seen by Canadian director Sidney J Furie for teenage fly boy Doug Masters, rescuing his dad from a Mid East jail in an F-16, Therefore, the release was switched to avoid clashing with Tom Cruise as another jet jock in Top Gun.
- Tom Cruise, Top Gun, 1985. Among those passing on cocky USNavy jet pilot Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell were: Kevin Bacon, Scott Baio, Jim Carrey, John Cusack, Robert Downey Jr, Michael J Fox, Rob Lowe, Matthew Modine (took exception to the script’s Cold War politics), Patrick Swayze, Eric Stolz John Travolta (too pricey) and brothers Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. Too young, at 20, Sheen sent the whole movie up in Hot Shots! 1990. Maverick became one of Cruise’s signature acts – still took 34 years for a sequel!
- Alan Ruck, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 1986. He refused to be Cameron – knowing his brother, Charlie Sheen, had the support ace… stayed awake for more than 48 hours before the drugged-out scene in the police station, The teenage Ruck was actually 29 Esztevez was 24. Charlie Sheen, Platoon, l986. In the first auditions, director Oliver Stone felt Sheen was a gawky and underweight kid. His sibling was chosen instead, then the finance split asunder in 1983. Three years later, Estevez (the true family name) was directing his first film. and Stone found Sheen’s “eyes, the look, the mood, the feeling, the face – it was just right.” A fan of Midnight Express, Scarface, Charlie “thought it’d be cool to play the man on screen and be directed by him at the same time.”
- Charlie Sheen, Platoon, l986.
- Kiefer Sutherland, Bright Lights, Big City, 1987. To change his white bread image, Michael J Fox took over Jamie from Tom Cruise – and suggedsted Sutherland for Tad Allagash. To the chagrin of Estevez, Rob Lowe and Judd Nelson.
- Michael Keaton, Batman, 1988.
- Bill Campbell, The Rocketeer, 1990. Kevin Costner, Johnny Depp, Vincent D’Onofrio, Matthew Modine, Bill Paxton, Dennis Quaid, Kurt Russell were also in the Disney frame for Cliff Secord flying around 30s’ LA in Alan Arkin’s rocket backpack. When interviewing Campbell – in Paris for the opening – he told me he’d spent the previous night climbing the North face of… Notre Dame cathedral! For fun. Not a camera in sight.
- Bryant Weeks, Bix, Italy, 1991. Martin Sheen long planned to direct his son in a bio of jazzman Leon Bix Beiderbecke in a script by family friends, Zalman King and Patrica Lousiana Knoop – more known for writing 9 1/2 Weeks. Italy’s Pupi Avati used a script by himself and his family. Weeks never made another film.
- Alan Tudyk, I, Robot, 2004. Auditioned for a murder suspect – the 2035 robot Sonny, filmed like Andy Serkis’ work for The Lord of the Rings’ Gollum and the 2005 King Kong, with computers following the actor’s body language.
- Michael C Hall, Dexter, TV, 2006-2014. Everyone from Emilio and brother Charlie Sheen to – quite stupidly, Tom Cruise, Sean Penn, Ben Stiller, were listed for TV’s most unlikely hero. Dexter Morgan was the Miami PD’s blood-splatter expert moonlighting as a serial killer… of other killers.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 18