Steven Spielberg’s Clever Thinking Had Him Resort to Make-Up Men in Gorilla Suits to Get an Honest Reaction from His Actor, Proved Why He’s Still the Greatest Director in Hollywood
- Steven Spielberg shared the trick he used to get Cary Guffey's reaction on Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
- Scott Derrickson appreciated Spielberg for his tricks and technique to get a four-year-old boy react on-camera.
- Spielberg wanted Steve McQueen as Roy Neary.
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is regarded as a pioneer of the modern blockbuster and a major figure in the New Hollywood era. With his movies, including the Indiana Jones trilogy, The Color Purple, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List, and more, he has acquired the status of being one of the most commercially successful directors in the industry.
Aspiring filmmakers and actors look up to Spielberg’s work for understanding filmmaking and how actors can be director’s actors. His work has been recognized as among the greatest in the history of cinema, making him one of the most influential people in the world. A recent detail shared by Doctor Strange’s director Scott Derrickson proves why Steven Spielberg is considered to be the best.
Steven Spielberg used tricks to get his child actor to perform in Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg directed 1977’s science fiction drama film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, starring Cary Guffey, Teri Garr, Richard Dreyfuss, and more. The movie follows the life of Roy Neary, a blue-collar worker in Indiana, and how his life changes after an encounter with a UFO. The movie also shows the story of a single mother whose son gets abducted by a UFO.
The movie was a long-cherished project for the filmmaker, who had shared that he started to work on the movie while making Jaws. The movie features a three-year-old Barry Guiler played by Cary Guffey who gets abducted by a UFO. The filmmaker shared in an interview (via Woman’s World) that he manipulated his reaction for the camera. He explained,
What I did was manipulative, but it was effective when he had to look at the sky because something was coming out of the sky and he was looking at this with great fascination. I said, ‘Roll’, and we rolled the camera, and I said, ‘I have a present for you.’ I got up on the ladder, so it was above his sight line. I had a gift-wrapped present, and I slowly started to unwrap the present, one piece of paper, one ribbon string at a time, and his eyes were salivating.
Spielberg added that after he removed the lid of the box and brought out a toy car for him, that’s when he said, ‘Cut, next shot!’. This is just one of the few tricks he used to get the reaction out of the little boy. Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson went on to share that directing children requires creativity, and by sharing a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, he added,
To get this incredible reaction from a four-year-old boy seeing aliens for the first time, Spielberg and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond surprised the young actor when he arrived in the kitchen.
Sometimes directing children takes some creativity. To get this incredible reaction from a four-year-old boy seeing aliens for the first time, Spielberg and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond surprised the young actor when he arrived in the kitchen. Zsigmond stepped out in front of… pic.twitter.com/JFtHzd3ipM
— N O S ⋊ Ɔ I ᴚ ᴚ Ǝ ᗡ ⊥ ⊥ O Ɔ S (@scottderrickson) August 28, 2024
He explained that Zsigmond stepped out in front of the boy dressed up in a clown costume, whereas Spielberg appeared in a gorilla costume. However, the director later, after fact checks, clarified that it was a make-up man, Bob Westmoreland, and someone else who had appeared in a clown and a gorilla costume in front of the boy to get his reaction.
The tricks used by Spielberg to get a reaction from a little boy seem interesting and effective. This just goes to show that he’s called one of the best directors in the industry for a reason.
Steve McQueen rejected the role of Roy Neary for an emotional reason
According to Woman’s World, the filmmaker wanted actor Steve McQueen to play the lead role of Roy Neary in the movie and had sent him the script. The actor had loved the script but decided not to play the lead. Speilberg explained,
He read the script and invited me up to his beach house to talk about it. He opened up a can of Colt 45 beer. I wasn’t a drinker, and he didn’t understand why I wouldn’t drink the beer he put in right in front of me. But we sat there, and he told me how much he liked the script. And then he told me he was not going to be Roy Neary. I asked him why, and he said, ‘Because at the end, Roy Neary breaks down, and he’s crying. I don’t do that.
Spielberg offered to cut the shot from the scene, to which McQueen told him that his script made him cry and that is the moment he should never cut out. The role eventually went to Richard Dreyfuss, whom the filmmaker describes as someone he identifies with.
The filmmaker noted that he apologized to the actor after filming 20–30 days for keeping him in the wings for a long time. Dreyfuss, who played Matt Hooper in Spielberg’s Jaws, wanted to play Roy Neary since the beginning, but the filmmaker had different people in mind. It eventually landed in Dreyfuss’ kitty, and he was highly appreciated for the part.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is available to stream on Prime Video on VOD.
