In 2005, Steven Spielberg's new film, War of the Worlds, was released. The actors of the picture received worldwide popularity and recognition. The career of many of them crawled up. Critics praised the work of the director and cast. For many fans of the cult novel by Herbert Wells, the film was good news: the beloved characters finally got a guise.
The film was nominated for several Academy Awards. The box office in the world exceeded five hundred thousand dollars.
Role Selection
This was not the first film adaptation of Wells’s novel “War of the Worlds”. Actors for the new remake were personally selected by Spielberg. According to the director, this film meant a lot to him. He wanted to shoot it back in 1999, even a script was written. However, then another popular film about the invasion of aliens came out. Therefore, the premiere was postponed. And in 2004, Paramount Pictures agreed to shoot. Initially, the film was planned as a large-scale blockbuster with the most modern special effects. Therefore, more than one hundred and thirty million dollars were allocated for the filming. Particular attention was paid even to the announcer.
According to the script, some moments should be accompanied by a voiceover. And Stephen did not agree to "anyone." He personally ordered negotiations with Morgan Freeman. Prior to that, Spielberg had already worked with Freeman. Realizing that even for such a simple role you have to pay a tidy sum, Stephen still brought his demand to the end. Many believe that Morgan’s invitation was also linked to a marketing campaign. The presence in the credits of such a famous actor certainly attracted many people to cinemas.
But this is not the only star who took part in the film "War of the Worlds." Actors of the first echelon received other major roles.
Crane operator, father and just a tough guy
The main role in the film is played by Tom Cruise. The actor was popular before the release of the picture. Just as Craig became the face of the "Bond", Cruise became the face of the spy thriller saga "Mission Impossible." However, this time he was supposed to play not a cool secret service agent. He got the role of Ray Ferrier - an ordinary hard worker. In the morning, Ray goes to a construction site, then returns home on his Chevy of sixty-six and watches baseball while drinking beer.
And Tom managed to get on with the role as well as possible. An ordinary bachelor, a guy in a cap, is faced with unknown horrors face to face.
Cruz's personality was in the spotlight of the tabloids immediately after it became known about his participation in the film “War of the Worlds”. Supporting actors joked that the credits should indicate "Tom Cruise and others."
We continue the conversation about the actors who appeared in this fantastic film.
War of the Worlds: actors and roles of children
In addition to Ray, in the center of the plot are his two children. Robbie and Rachel do not live with their father and arrived only for the weekend. Teen Robbie plays Justin Chatwin. Prior to that, he played episodic roles in several films. Critics noted how professionally he managed to convey the image of a rebellious teenager.
Moreover, some viewers even noticed some kind of external similarity between Cruise and Justin. For some time, there was even a rumor in the yellow press that Tom was Justin's father not only on the screen.
Youngest daughter
Another child is played by Dakota Fanning. At the time of filming, she was only ten years old. Other actors in the film “War of the Worlds” were worried that the young actress simply could not cope. But Dakota not only endured with all the hardships of the filming process, but also played well. Critics praised her work and began to prophesy a bright future for the girl.
The main difficulty was that Rachel was not just a static character. She threw tantrums several times and panicked. The audience noted the naturalness with which Dakota could not breathe in the scene by the river.
A funny incident happened during the filming. To depict floating corpses, mannequins were used. At the same time they were made up as closely as possible to people. Several dolls sailed away from the crew. They were searched by the police, because someone could see plastic people and take them for real.
Of the supporting actors, Anne Robinson is noteworthy. For her, this was the third adaptation of the novel "War of the Worlds." The television series, whose actors were quite popular at the time of its release, was shown in 1988. Therefore, in the film adaptation of Spielberg, Anne played the mother of the main character, and not her daughter, as in the series.