Nightmare Alley: why Bradley Cooper replaced Leonardo DiCaprio? – CineSeries

When he takes over the role of Leonardo DiCaprio in “Nightmare Alley”, Bradley Cooper considers ending his acting career. If the experience ultimately turns out to be very pleasant, the actor admits having accepted Guillermo del Toro’s proposal because of his “insecurity” and his “ego”.

Nightmare Alley : a man or a beast?

Adaptation of the eponymous novel by William Lindsay Greshamalready transposed to the screen by Edmund Goulding in 1947 with The Charlatan, Nightmare Alley is probably darkest film Guillermo del Torowho abandons all optimism after The Shape of Water. Released in early 2022, the feature film tells the rise of the enigmatic Stanton Carlisle, played by bradley cooper.

This vagabond with a troubled past manages to join the troupe of a funfair which has many acts, ranging from the presentation of fairground beasts to clairvoyance. He met many people there, including that of Clem Hoatley (Willem Dafoe), which uses drug addicts and alcoholics to turn them into monsters in the eyes of the public, until they can no longer hold on after descending into madness. Stanton draws inspiration from Clem’s cunning, but also from the techniques of the clairvoyant Zeena (Toni Collette) and his companion Pete (David Strathairn) to learn how to manipulate spectators.

Nightmare Alley © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

He also falls under the spell of Molly Cahill (Rooney Mara) and once he mastered the tricks of the trade, he put on his own show in New York, during which he claims to be able to make contact with the dead. It was there that he met the psychologist Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett), as mysterious and dangerous as he is…

Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen, Paul Anderson, Tim Blake Nelson and Ron Perlman complete the prestigious distribution of Nightmare Alley. It is moreover the interpreter of Hellboy, favorite actor of Guillermo del Toro, who suggests to the filmmaker to adapt the work of Gresham after their first collaboration on Chronos. More than 20 years later, the director embarked on the project, with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead to play the main character.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s withdrawal

In December 2021, Guillermo del Toro reveals the reason why the star of titanic and the Revenant has been compelled to give up Nightmare Alley. Asked by The Wrapthe filmmaker explains:

He was interested because we have a common fascination for carnival but very quickly it was obvious that there was going to be a conflict of dates. I needed enough time to put together the cast as I saw it. We wrote (with Kim Morgan, note) the role of Lilith for Cate Blanchett, that of Clem for Willem Dafoe, that of Bruno for Ron Perlman, etc. So we couldn’t rush the shooting, because all the schedules had to match. He left on very good terms.

Nightmare Alley
Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett) – Nightmare Alley © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The director then thought of Bradley Cooper, having perceived his dark side in Limitless and A Star is Born. He adds :

I knew Stanton had to be magnetic but have a touch of madness. Magnetic enough for people to believe in him, and Bradley has that star power and the will to go really, really dark, which I really appreciated. He wouldn’t have backed down from anything.

Bradley Cooper in times of “insecurity”

During a conversation with Mahershala Ali for varietyBradley Cooper Reveals nearly quitting his acting career before Paul Thomas Anderson don’t offer him the role of Jon Peters in Licorice Pizzawhich he is shooting during a break in the production of Nightmare Alley. He also reveals that when he agrees to play Stanton, he goes through a great period of “insecurity” in Hollywood, not feeling recognized by their peers :

Nightmare Alley was an interesting example of my insecurity. I was like, ‘Oh, I guess I’m still the guy who wants to be in the band’, because I had no intention of performing in anything other than what I was writing. (…) I remember thinking, ‘Oh wow, the guys who don’t hire me want to hire me?’ And I was like, ‘Of course, I have to do this just because I was never accepted into this group. It was insecurity and ego. Luckily it was an amazing experience.

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Nightmare Alley: why Bradley Cooper replaced Leonardo DiCaprio? – CineSeries