The craft that Christopher Nolan weaves in the name of filmmaking has always been bewitching (in the best way possible, of course), a flair that is conspicuous even in his most preliminary works. But, as it turns out, one of the British director’s earliest projects, which also ranks among one of his very rare R-Rated ventures, came a hairbreadth close to starring Harrison Ford. But alas, fate had different plans in store for both of them.
When Harrison Ford Nearly Led A Christopher Nolan Film
Although Christopher Nolan has a rather charming panoply of masterpieces that he has helmed, Insomnia continues to remain perhaps one of his most underrated movies to this very date. Besides 2000’s Memento (and most recently, Oppenheimer), the Al Pacino-led psychological thriller is the only other non-PG-13 film that the 52-year-old has breathed into life. But for a hot minute there, the Scarface star almost didn’t portray the role of Will Dormer; instead, Harrison Ford did.
Known best for his adventures as Indy Jones, Ford, 80, could’ve very well stepped into the protagonist’s shoes in the 2002 thriller, but that was before Nolan got attached to the project.
Before Inception, filmmaker shepherded the movie, Jonathan Demme, who landed an Oscar for 1992’s The Silence of the Lambs, had been in the works to direct an American remake of the 1997’s Norwegian thriller of the same name with Ford as the leading man. Circumstances, however, (that remain unbeknownst to the public), forced the late Demme to extricate himself from the film altogether, at which point, the Blade Runner star too, ended up leaving.
Enter Nolan.
Insomnia Thrived Under the Reign of the British Filmmaker
While Ford and Demme might have detached their names from the project, it looks like everything does indeed happen for a reason, because boy did Nolan deliver!
Following the exit of the original lead, the Tenet director then put together an ensemble cast consisting of Pacino, Robin Williams (Jumanji), Hilary Swank (P.S. I Love You), with the likes of Martin Donovan (Simple Men), Maura Tierney (NewsRadio), and Nicky Katt (Dazed and confused) in supporting roles.
The movie follows two homicide detectives from L.A. who’re investigating the murder of a teenage girl in Alaska. But what starts as a police inspection soon ends up turning into a game of secrets laced with paranoia as the lead investigator on the case gets embroiled with the primary murder suspect in a psychological cat-and-mouse chase.
While Insomnia garnered critical acclaim, Pacino and William were especially lauded for their remarkable performances with the latter even landing a Saturn Award nod for Best Supporting Actor. Not to mention, the film witnessed commercial glory as well after grossing $113.8 million worldwide against a scanty production budget of just $46 million.
Insomnia can be rented or purchased on Apple TV+.
Source: Mental Floss
