| THE
ACTORS AND THEIR ROLES
THE
DAREDEVIL filmmakers have assembled a cast with the emotional
and physical substance to bring life to the dark, exciting, and
sometimes humorous world of Matt Murdock and Daredevil.
Their
top priority, of course, was casting the role of The Man without
Fear. The character is like none other in the comics canon.
The sightless hero’s fingers can feel the faint impressions
of ink on a printed page, allowing him to read by touch. He can
perceive minute changes in the temperature and pressure of the surrounding
atmosphere. Daredevil can identify individuals by smell alone, no
matter how they might try to camouflage their natural odor. He can
hear a heartbeat at a distance of twenty feet, tell whether someone
is lying by listening to changes in the heart’s rhythm and
identify people by the specific patterns of their heartbeats.
Daredevil
possesses the acrobatic ability of a circus performer and the pugilistic
skills of a heavyweight prizefighter. Though he has studied various
Asian martial-arts techniques and American boxing, his fighting
style is unique; it includes movements and blows from many disciplines.
Given
the character’s formidable look and talents, casting the role
seemed a daunting if not impossible task. But Johnson, having read
Ben Affleck’s forward
to the Kevin Smith graphic novel, knew that the actor was born to
play the masked vigilante. “Not only is Ben a talented and
physically gifted actor, he’s as big a comic book geek as I
am,” Johnson laughs. “A bonus was that, at six-three,
he’s physically imposing. This story is about believability,
so it was important to have an actor who looks like he could play
someone who puts his body on the line every night.”
“Ben
has the acting chops, physical ability, emotional sensitivity and
awareness necessary to play Matt Murdock and Daredevil,” says
Gary Foster. “You also totally believe him as a romantic lead.
And being a fan since he was a kid, Ben really understands the world
of Daredevil.”
Affleck
acknowledges that playing Daredevil was more than a typical acting
assignment, and that he was thrilled to see this important part
of his childhood come to life. “The character and comics had
this magical kind of mythical appeal to me,” he says. “Daredevil
is dark and tough, but also sort of sexy and romantic. It’s
a challenge to take the two-dimensional medium of comics and create
a live-action world, making it believable and compelling, all without
betraying the original concept.”
Golden
Globe®-winning actress Jennifer Garner
takes on the role of Matt’s love interest – and Daredevil
foe – deadly femme fatale Elektra Natchios, the daughter of
Greek business tycoon Nikolas Natchios. Elektra is a consummate
practitioner of the martial arts, a mistress of the skills of the
ancient ninja of Japan, and an Olympic-level athlete and gymnast.
Her weapons of choice: a pair of three-pronged daggers, or sai.
The
filmmakers carried out an exhaustive search for the right actress
to play Elektra – someone dynamic enough to play a wealthy
businessman’s privileged daughter, yet who could turn on a
dime and become a lethal warrior. “A lot of people were clamoring
for the part,” recalls Foster. “We saw people in Los Angeles,
New York, Europe and Australia. We had always wanted to bring in
Jennifer Garner to read, but she wasn’t available because of
her television series. Then schedule changes made it possible for
her to meet with us. At that point we had seen hundreds of actresses,
but when she came in to read we just knew: ‘There’s Elektra.’”
“Jennifer
has an ability to be so sweet and so pure looking, but then you
dress her up, she’s sexy and exotic,” says Mark Steven
Johnson. “She’s a real chameleon with her looks and acting
styles. That was exactly what we were looking for in Elektra.”
“The
moment Jennifer walked in for our first meeting, I knew we had a
special brand of Elektra,” says Arad. “She is edgy and
tragic, yet warm and emotional.”
Garner
found much to work with in Elektra, not the least of which was the
character’s martial abilities. The actress notes with a smile
that her work in “Alias” put her in a “kind of combat
mode,” which drew her to DAREDEVIL. “And I really wanted
to fight Ben Affleck,” she jokes.
In
addition to the film’s non-stop action – and the chance
to spar with her co-star – Garner appreciated DAREDEVIL’s
romantic and emotional elements, as well as the duality of the character.
“There’s a heart and emotional center to this movie that
everything comes out of,” she says. “Elektra is both good
and evil at the same time. She’s a very dark person by nature,
but she can also appear very optimistic. She’s very fierce
and much more aggressive than anyone I’ve played before. Elektra
goes looking for a fight instead of just reacting to the situation
around her. She’s a strong, confident and sexy woman who is
not afraid to use her sex to throw people off guard.”
The
love story between Matt and Elektra endures as one of the most complicated
storylines in comic book history, and is central to the film. Their
respective quests to find meaning in their lives and their struggles
with their respective dark sides brings them together, in ways more
traditional bonds could never. “Matt and Elektra couldn’t
be a more unlikely couple,” says Avi Arad. “Elektra was
brought up in a privileged world. She had everything that drives
men away. And here she meets this blind guy from the other side
of the tracks – Hell’s Kitchen. Ultimately, their romance
becomes like a Greek tragedy, because she wants to kill Daredevil,
not realizing of course that he is Matt Murdock, the man she has
fallen in love with.”
Elektra
finds her life forever changed by Bullseye, the assassin with perfect
aim who has targeted Elektra’s father as his next victim. Bullseye’s
signature weapons are metal throwing stars, or shuriken, but he
is equally deadly with any object – be it a pencil, playing
card or paper clip. They all become lethal weapons in the skilled
hands of the man who could be the world’s greatest assassin.
Farrell
embraced the character, bringing to it a mischievous and punk rock
swagger. He explains that there wasn’t a lot of preparation
he could do for the role. “Bullseye’s not constricted
by the rules of reality,” he notes. “It was so much fun
for me to play Bullseye because I was able to check subtlety at
the door. I could be as camp and over the top as possible. I’ve
never done anything like it.”
Immersing
himself in the role, Farrell pored through piles of Daredevil comic
books sent by Johnson. “Bullseye’s tools of the trade
are basically anything that’s in the room at any given time,”
Farrell says. “He’s a master with his hands, whether it’s
a pen or a paper clip or a beer mat, he can kill you from forty
yards by just throwing it your way. He also has a big, long, reptilian
coat that spreads out like a parachute that he uses as a weapon,
but more for defending.” For the flamboyant physical demands
of the role, Farrell practiced his magician’s sleight-of-hand
technique as well as completing martial arts and fighting training.
Bullseye’s
latest employer is Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, a self-made millionaire
whose criminal empire envelops Daredevil. Using his immense size
and strength, Kingpin reached the pinnacle of his chosen profession
by relying on just one person: himself. He rules the East Coast
underworld with an iron hand and zero tolerance for failure.
Thanks
to years of training and discipline, the Kingpin is an extraordinary
hand-to-hand combatant. These fighting skills, coupled with an unusual
agility for a man his size are more than a match for Daredevil.
The comics’ Kingpin stands 6 feet, 7 inches and weighs 450
pounds, and while 6’ 5”, 340 lb. Michael
Clarke Duncan doesn’t quite measure up in size to
his comics counterpart, the filmmakers were thrilled to have the
Academy Award nominee aboard. “I was adamant that we get the
best actor for the role” says Mark Steven Johnson. “Michael
really made the character come alive.”
While
perhaps a few eyebrows were raised when Duncan was cast, as the
comics character is Caucasian, the filmmakers knew that Duncan would
assuage any doubts. “The spirit of the character is much better
served by going for the best person for the role instead of trying
to match skin tones,” adds Johnson. “I’m confident
even the most diehard comics fan will agree that Michael is Kingpin.”
As
a child, Duncan read Daredevil comics, particularly appreciating
the story’s Hells Kitchen locale. “Daredevil didn’t
grow up in a nice neighborhood, like most superheroes,” Duncan
says. “He grew up in a type of ghetto. I can relate to that
because that’s where I come from. I knew the things he went
through every day. I could look out my window or walk down the street
and see the same thing that Daredevil or Kingpin does.”
The
filmmakers asked the already bigger-than-life Duncan to gain weight
for the massively muscled Kingpin. Through a regimen of eating and
power lifting, Duncan gained the bulk and strength necessary to
complete the look of the character. Duncan explains that the tremendous
size of Kingpin does not hamper his fighting ability. “You
don’t think of Kingpin as being a fighter. His speed, quickness,
and agility were all things that you would not ordinarily see in
a man my size. So when Daredevil and Kingpin fight, Daredevil is
thrown off because Kingpin is just as quick as he is. So, basically,
Ben Affleck gets his butt whooped.”
With
Kingpin, Bullseye and Elektra all making life very difficult for
Daredevil, it’s left to Matt’s best friend and partner
at the law office of Murdock & Nelson, Franklin “Foggy”
Nelson, to provide many of the film’s lighter moments. Though
a trusted ally, Foggy is unaware of Matt’s secret identity.
Their friendship provides Matt with a much-needed solid foundation,
as well as some much-needed humor.
Jon
Favreau, star of such notable indie films as “Swingers”
and “Made,” felt a sense of responsibility in portraying
a character that multitudes of comics fans had grown up with. “You
try and capture the spirit of the comics character, but by the same
token, you have to bring life and yourself to it,” notes the
actor. “Comic book characters tend to be very one-dimensional,
so when you bring it to the screen you have to breathe life into
it.”
Favreau
and Affleck are part of the same generation of actors and filmmakers
who burst onto the scene through independent films, and they share
a common frame of reference and sensibilities. “I think in
casting Ben and me, you capture an aspect of the relationship that
reflects what’s in the comic book, but with a greater dimension
to it,” Favreau notes. “Ben and I share a common sense
of humor, so I think the chemistry on screen reflects that because
we’re having a lot of fun together.”
Joe
Pantoliano, the acclaimed character actor who recently
starred on “The Sopranos,” is Ben Urich, a dogged reporter
with the New York Post on a mission to uncover the identity of the
infamous Kingpin. That leads to an even bigger story: the secret
of Daredevil.
Pantoliano
says that his character is “…a reporter who digs into
the truth and gleans out the lies.” As Urich gets closer to
the truth he becomes a danger to the principal characters. “Kingpin
doesn’t want Urich to discover who he is,” says Pantoliano,
“and certainly Daredevil doesn’t want Urich to discover
his identity, though he sure leaves a lot of clues. Urich realizes
that what Daredevil is doing is for the people, for the underprivileged
of the area, and he appreciates it. In the end Urich realizes that
the story he’s seeking may end up hurting some people, so he
faces a moral dilemma.”
The
film also features Golden Globe-nominated actor David
Keith as Jack ‘The Devil’ Murdock, Matt’s
father, a down-on-his-luck prizefighter who makes ends meet working
as an enforcer for a local hoodlum. “What happens to my character
really shapes Matt Murdock’s life,” Keith says. “It’s
what drives him to become a lawyer and the vigilante known as Daredevil.
It’s the anger from having his father killed for being a good
guy.”
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