Universal put me in an awful predicament when they forced me to replace Michael Baldwin in the role he created in Phantasm. As casting began on Phantasm II, the Universal executives made it very clear to me that they expected me to cast a working actor in the role of Mike. This created a major problem as Michael Baldwin, who originated the role, had left the business and had not been working as an actor for a few years. I was in a very awkward position. I had known Michael for over a decade and had made two films with him. He was a dear friend. To try to change the executive’s minds I even cajoled Michael into coming over and allowing me to videotape him reading for the part. In retrospect, this was hugely disrespectful. Michael had originated the role in a hit movie—why should he ever be asked to read for his own role? Well, I thought I could use his reading to convince Universal to allow him to play the role. It didn’t work.
At the same time Universal forced me to look at other options to play Reggie. I had to waste valuable preproduction time interviewing almost every prematurely bald working actor in Hollywood. Finally the brass realized the obvious, that Reggie could not be recast. However they continued to insist on a new actor for Mike, arguing that the transition from twelve years old in the first Phantasm to nineteen-year-old Mike in part two could easily hide the change in actor. We ultimately cast James Le Gros, an exceptional actor who stepped into a difficult situation and performed the role admirably.
I sometimes wonder if I should have told Universal to take a hike when they suggested recasting. The harsh truth is they would have pulled the plug on Phantasm II. So I went ahead with the recasting, but to this day I still feel horrible about Michael Baldwin’s treatment by the studio. The only thing that mitigates this whole mess is that on Phantasm III I had more control and was able to bring back Michael to star. After that, Michael went on to star in two more Phantasm films and he was terrific in all of them.
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Sometime in the late nineties Michael told me an interesting story. He mentioned that he was over at a dinner party with actress Jennifer Aniston, whom he had been friends with since before she was famous. Her new boyfriend, actor Brad Pitt, suddenly blurted out, “Hey, you’re the Phantasm guy.” According to Michael, Brad laughed and said that he had auditioned for Phantasm II but didn’t get the part. I didn’t know how this could be. My memory must be failing me, but I never remembered meeting Brad Pitt. Well, Michael insisted that I did.
A while later, I came across some old VHS casting tapes from Phantasm II and started fast-forwarding through them. Lo and behold, there it was. On-screen, my casting director, Betsy Fels, opens the office door with a flourish and announces, “Don, meet Brad Pitt.” And in walked Brad Pitt, who proceeded to read the cemetery scene from Phantasm II. “Reggie, every one of these graves is empty!” In my defense, Brad was young, twenty-three years old, had this Flock of Seagulls wraparound hairstyle, and at the time was wearing eighties parachute-style exercise pants tucked into his socks and hi-top Reeboks. In hindsight, I guess it was probably a huge mistake, but at that age, he had not matured yet into the Brad Pitt we know today. He gives it his best in the video audition and I am sure that he would have done just fine in the role. Can you imagine? Brad Pitt squaring off against the Tall Man? That would have been epic.
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The Brad Pitt episode was not the only casting blunder I ever made. In my movie Survival Quest the character named Gray ultimately went to a fine young actor named Dermot Mulroney in his first feature film role. During casting for that film a diminutive, very young actor came in and read for the same role. I think my comment at the time was that if I sneezed he would blow away. I have taken so much flak over the years for my mistake with Brad Pitt, I am absolutely not revealing who this unnamed actor is. I will say, though, as he aged and matured into a seasoned actor—to my everlasting regret—his career has certainly rivaled Brad Pitt’s.