by Nathaniel R
Dearest reader, as you've probably heard by now the director Jonathan Demme has passed away at 73. He died due to esophageal cancer. I had run into him at a screening of La La Land this past September and I took the opportunity to tell him how much Rachel Getting Married meant to me (he joked about being first with interracial weddings for Rosemarie deWitt onscreen). Then we talked Swing Shift for a little bit as we had just discussed it on this very site. I was so saddened by this yesterday that I couldn't do much but tweet my farewells. The words wouldn't come out for a lengthy piece but then, surprise, I remembered I'd written the following piece that was never published (oops) to coincide with the release of Ricki and the Flash (2015). I filled in a few of the blank spots and adjusted some verbs to reflect the past tense but this surprisingly doubles as what I probably wanted to say about Jonathan Demme yesterday and couldn't. It's about his favorite actors but looking back, it's a fitting tribute because what American director was more curious about literally any kind of person he might find with his camera?
Jonathan Demme was one of America's most interesting and surprising directors. Though he's now best remembered for the modern classic The Silence of the Lambs (1991) it was actually something of an oddity in his filmography being the only horror film and, in some ways, the most classically controlled. In other ways though it's a traditional Demme picture. It features actors doing unexpected or suddenly signature electric work, weird musician cameos (what the hell is one of the members of 80s synth pop band Book of Love doing in there?), and diverse casting where most films would go with the default heavily male white cast. In fact, Silence might be his most white/male movie but that's part of its plot...
Diversity is a hot topic in the early 21st century but unfortunately only in the negative sense; directors like Demme (not that there are many like him) almost never get credit for always casting with a wide range of types, ages, and races in mind.
In fact, Demme was sometimes dinged for his pure humanism by critics as with the silly complaints that Rachel Getting Married was "unrealistic" in its melting pot approach of cultures and races at a Connecticutt wedding. This angered me enormously at the time as I have been to a few multicultural interracial weddings before and three of my closest married couple friends are in bi-racial marriages. Shortly before Rachel Getting Married was released I was at a Buddhist/Unitarian interracial wedding with many Recovering Mormons and a lot of LGBT friends of the straight couple in attendance. So, yes, I love Rachel Getting Married and the people who thought it was unrealistic REALLY need to get out into the world a little more.
But I digress. If you see a Demme picture, chances are you'll see something somewhat loose and maybe uneven but most definitely alive, with musically inclined rhythms and electric performances, and usually with a cameo from either a musician or another auteur or both. Often they'll have dark laughs and ragged energy and progressive love for people of all types and be less concerned with plot than character. You'll also see some familiar faces as he likes to reuse actors.
Let's look at the faces that pop up most often in his films. It's a fitting tribute because what American director was more interested in literally any kind of person he might find with his camera?
Demme's Most Frequent Actors
In order of how many films they've appeared in...
Charles Napier in (clockwise from top): Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Married to the Mob, The Manchurian Candidate
8 films
Charles Napier (1936-2011) is perhaps best remembered for his large villainous role in Rambo: First Blood Part II but he got his start acting in Russ Meyer movies and became a swift favorite of Jonathan Demme thereafter. He appeared in Handle With Care, Melvin and Howard, Swing Shift, Something Wild, Philadelphia, Beloved, and The Manchurian Candidate. His most atypical role within Demme's filmography was surely Angela's hairdresser in Married to the Mob and his most famous was Lt. Boyle in Silence of the Lambs. He's the one who doesn't realize when he's serving dinner to Hannibal Lecter that he's actually the dinner.
Northup in Silence of the Lambs and in Philadelphia.
8 films
Harry Northup, a poet/actor, is a familiar face from both the Scorsese and Demme filmographies. He appears in all six of Martin Scorsese's first movies though he hasn't been in any of them since. His first Demme picture was Crazy Mama (1975), after which he appeared in Fighting Mad, Handle with Care, Swing Shift, Philadelphia, and then roles as a grieving father in Silence of the Lambs, a sheriff in Beloved, and finally he's in The Manchurian Candidate as "Congressman Flores." NOTE: Demme occasionally also made commercials and Northup appeared in two of those, too.
6 films
Paul Lazar is the one with the funky eyes. Once you've seen his face, you can't forget it. And you've definitely seen it... even recently in Snowpiercer. The multi-talented actor/writer/director mostly does stage work and teaches at Tisch School of the Arts in NYC. He pops up all the time in Demme films. He flirts memorably with Clarice Starling as the entomologist "Pilcher" in The Silence of the Lambs and he's "Dr Klenstein" in Philadelphia. Other Demme films: Manchurian Candidate, Beloved, Married to the Mob, Rachel Getting Married. NOTE: Lazar also appears in Demme's segment in the omnibus telefilm "Subway Stories" so it's 6.3 films if you wanna get complicated about it.
Gary Goetzman first went in front of the camera for Demme on Handle With Care. Then came cameos in Swing Shift, Married to the Mob, Melvin and Howard, and two movies in which his character was named "Guido" (Philadelphia and Something Wild). In addition to acting in Demme films he also sometimes served as producer or executive producer on his films.
Babatundé in Silence and Philadelphia
4 films
Obba Babatundé is probably best known for his award nominated roles in black telefilms like Miss Evers Boys and Introducing Dorothy Dandridge or stage musicals like Dreamgirls. He has a recurring character role in the new Netflix series Dear White People. As for his work with Demme, he's a TV anchor in Silence of the Lambs, the "Face of Justice" in Married to the Mob, and makes appearances in both Philadelphia and The Manchurian Candidate.
Blake in Philadelphia and in Rachel Getting Married
Andre B Blake 's best Demme roles are one-sceners but what scenes! He plays a hairstylist inspired by Kym (Anne Hathaway) in recovery in Rachel Getting Married and he's the law student who tries to pick up Denzel Washington's homophobic lawyer in Philadelphia. He appears briefly in The Manchurian Candidate and The Silence of the Lambs as well. NOTE: Blake also appears in Demme's segment in the omnibus telefilm "Subway Stories" so it's more like 4.3 films.
Roger Corman, who received an Honorary Oscar in the Aughts, was an indie cinema trailblazer and he launched many a career (including several very important directors). Jonathan Demme's was one of them. Corman wasn't an actor per se but Demme loved populating his movies with non-professionals from other entertainment forms in bit parts. Corman appears in Swing Shift, Philadelphia, and The Manchurian Candidate, and he's the FBI director in The Silence of the Lambs.
Tracey Walter's memorable mug was always popping up in 80s pop cinema like Batman and Conan the Destroyer. Demme liked looking at him, too. He's one half of that comic relief entomologist duo in Silence and he also has roles in Philadephia, and Manchurian. His best character name in film credits is surely the restaurant manager "Mr Chicken Lickin''" in Married to the Mob, though.
Rob Reece who Demme worked with in the Roger Corman days, appears in Caged Heat, Crazy Mama, Handle With Care, and plays Mary Steenburgen's second husband in Melvin and Howard
John Aprea is probably best known for "Young Tessio" in The Godfather Part II or recurring characters in Full House, or Knots Landing. He's also in three Demme pictures: Manchurian Candidate, Caged Heat, and Crazy Mama.
Victoria Haynes, currently playing Danny Rand's doomed mother in Iron Fist flashbacks on Netflix, has bit parts in The Manchurian Candidate, Rachel Getting Married, and Ricki and the Flash
Levine in Silence and in The Manchurian Candidate
Ted Levine achieved screen immortality in the Best Picture winning Silence of the Lambs for the problematic character of "Buffalo Bill." But that's not his only Demme picture. The director also cast him in The Truth About Charlie and The Manchurian Candidate (the film in Demme's filmography that appears to feature anyone he ever knew)
Bill Irwin & Anna Deavere Smith hosting the wedding in Rachel Getting Married
Anna Deavere Smith and Bill Irwin play the parents hosting the titular event in Rachel Getting Married. These two wonderful actors are irreplacable if you smoosh stage, tv, and film into one playground for actors (since they both do all three with true aplomb). In addition to that key Demme picture they are both in two other films, Smith appears in Philadelphia and Irwin in Ricki and the Flash they're both in The Manchurian Candidate. NOTE: Irwin also appears in Demme's segment in the omnibus telefilm "Subway Stories" so it's more like 3.25 pictures.
Jason Robards received the last Oscar nomination of his prestigious career for playing the recluse Howard Hughes in Melvin Howard (he'd won the prize on his two previous nominations for All the President's Men and Julia) years before Leonardo DiCaprio or Warren Beatty got their hands on the eccentric role. After Melvin and Howard, he acted for Demme in Philadelphia (1993) and in Beloved (1998) as "Mr Bodwin"
2 films
Kimberly Elise and Thandie Newton co-starred as sisters in Beloved and Lisa Gay Hamilton played Oprah's role as a younger woman. Elise returned to Demme to play Josie in The Manchurian Candidate and Newton came back to lead The Truth About Charlie (one of Demme's most forgotten failures) which also featured Hamilton in a supporting role. NOTE: Lisa Gay Hamilton was also in a telefilm directed by Jonathan Demme called Line of Sight (2014) so maybe she's 2.5 films
Jude Ciccolella appears as a schoolteacher in Beloved and has a role in The Manchurian Candidate, too.
Scott Glenn had the crucial role of Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and also acted for Demme in Fighting Mad (1976) many years earlier. In addition to his two proper Demme films he also acted in a film scripted but not directed by Demme called Angels as Hard as They Come (1971)
Jason Robards and Paul Le Mat in Melvin and Howard
Paul Le Mat who had come to fame in the early 70s via American Graffiti, played one of the two titular roles in Melvin and Howard though it was Mary Steenburgen as his wife who stole the show. He'd previously played "Spider" for Demme in Handle With Care.
Susan Peretz playd the chapel owner in Melvin and Howard and also "Edith" in Swing Shift
Stan in "Ricki" and Steenburgen in "Melvin & Howard"
Sebastian Stan, of Winter Soldier fame, played one of Meryl Streep's three estranged kids in Ricki and the Flash. He was previously great as an addict / thorn in Kym's side named "Walter" in Rachel Getting Married
Mary Steenburgen is one of four actors to win the Oscar for a Demme picture (The other three being Foster & Hopkins for Silence of the Lambs and Hanks for Philadelphia) but in addition to her marvelous film-stealing performance in Melvin and Howard she is part of the famous ensemble of Philadelphia.
Ron Vawter was in The Silence of the Lambs as Paul Krendler (a character later played by Ray Liotta in the sequel Hannibal) and then Jonathan Demme fought for him to be in Philadelphia as one of the lawyers despite the studio resisting because the actor was HIV positive. Vawter died just a couple of weeks after Philadelphia nabbed two Oscars.
Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington, the two biggest stars on this list co-starred together in The Manchurian Candidate but it's only half of their contribution to the Demme filmography. Streep headlined Ricki and the Flash, Demme's last narrative feature (though his last film was another from his beloved genre of the concert doc Justin Timberlake and the Tennessee Kids), and Denzel previously co-led Philadelphia.
1.5 films?
Should we count documentaries and shorts? In that case there's also Bernie Worrell the musician who is in the Talking Heads doc Stop Making Sense (1984) and also Ricki and the Flash. David Byrne, lead singer of the Talking Heads also made a short film with Demme after Stop Making Sense called "Survival Guide"
One Film Only. Why Not More?
The saddest part of this list is that Michelle Pfeiffer is not on it. He often stressed how much he loved working with her in Married to the Mob but she turned down his very next film (Silence of the Lambs) due to discomfort with the grisly content and they never ended up together again. It's not surprising since Pfeiffer rarely reworks with a director (she's only gone back for round two with three directors: Stephen Frears, Tim Burton, and Michael Hoffman) and usually with many years inbetwen the projects so maybe she's just not a 'let's stay friends after wrap!' social type. *sniffle*
And considering the raves/awards they won from performances he guided, it's strange that Jodie Foster (Oscar Win, Silence of the Lambs), Christine Lahti (Oscar Nomination, Swing Shift) and Melanie Griffith (Globe Nominee, Something Wild) never returned to his cameras, either.