This was stated by Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and Al Pacino. The person who taught them the most about acting was John Cazale.. A little-known actor who starred in only five films, but these were five masterpieces: “The Godfather. Part one”, “The Godfather. Part Two”, “The Conversation”, “Dog Day Afternoon” and “The Deer Hunter”. All five were nominated for Best Picture Oscars (three won), but Cazale was never nominated for his performances. Although few people remember him today, John Cazale changed the lives of Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep forever.
It all started during the filming of the film “The Godfather. Part two”. Robert De Niro played young Vito Corleone, and John Cazale returned to play his son Fredo. The two actors became best friends. Like everyone who worked with Cazale, De Niro was impressed by his talent. especially because of how lost he was in his character. Francis Ford Coppola was so pleased with his performance in The Godfather that he wrote a role for him in his film The Conversation.
Before working for this legendary director, Casale spent thirteen years working in theater in New York. working as a taxi driver, photographer and courier. In 1971, a casting director visited a small theater in Manhattan where an actor appeared “becoming his character.” At this point, he decided to offer John Cazale the role of Fredo Corleone.
After his starring role in The Godfather Part II, Cazale collaborated with Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon, in which they both rob a bank. The two actors acted together in several plays in New York before moving into film. For this performance, Pacino was nominated for an Oscar, but Cazale was ignored; his friend could not believe it. John Cazale’s acting style was subtle and naturalistic. His specialty was playing melancholy and reserved characters, so he usually did not star in bright dramatic moments.. This worked against him when it came to getting his work recognized. Everyone recognizes him as Fredo from The Godfather, but no one remembers his name because he was the film’s maintenance guy. He embodied the character so well that no one wonders which actor played him.
John Cazale and Meryl Streep fall in love
Casale continued to pursue theater despite his success in Hollywood. In 1976, he starred in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. This is how he met Meryl Streep, who acted with him during that period of her life when she was a young aspiring actress, completely unknown. He was delighted with her, although he thought that she acted without emotion..
Streep flirted with acting as a teenager, but after graduating from drama university she wanted to study law. As fate would have it, she fell asleep the morning before her entrance interview.. This prompted her to continue her studies in theater, this time at the Yale School of Drama. For a long time, she did not take her acting career seriously because she considered herself ugly. During his first year in New York, he managed to work on six plays, and law school was forgotten.
When they met, John Cazale was already a recognized 41-year-old Hollywood star, Meryl Streep was a 27-year-old aspiring theater actress. Once they became boyfriends, they were already living together, planning to get married after each landed their next big role. Unfortunately, fate had other plans.
Tragedy comes
In 1977, during the production of the play Agamemnon, in which he played the main role, John Cazale felt ill. When visiting the hospital, he was given the worst diagnosis: He was suffering from lung cancer, which had already spread to his bones.. The couple were devastated as doctors told them there was no way to escape but to delay the inevitable.
At the time, director Michael Cimino was trying to convince Robert De Niro to star in The Deer Hunter. Because he wanted to make a film about the Vietnam War when the topic was still quite controversial, he wanted to hire a superstar to make it easier for him to sell the project. De Niro agreed, but on the condition that he also cast a couple of his friends, John Cazale and Christopher Walken. When Robert De Niro went to tell his friend the good news, he turned him away, revealing his terrible diagnosis. Although he was shocked, De Niro managed to convince him to accept the role so that he could die doing what he loved.. John thought about it and then made his own condition. He would have starred in the film if his girlfriend Meryl Streep had been given a good role. The deal is completed. For this role, Streep will receive her first Oscar nomination.
Naturally, the producers of The Deer Hunter didn’t like the idea of hiring a terminally ill person; the insurance costs alone would have been enormous. So they initially rejected Robert De Niro’s condition. Knowing they couldn’t get by without him, De Niro told them that hiring Cazale was non-negotiable. Then signed a check for the huge amount needed to insure a terminally ill person and gave it to the producers.
The Deer Hunter was a success, grossing more than three times its budget at the box office. five Oscars, including best film. John Casale would not live to celebrate this achievement. He died on March 13, 1978 at the age of 42, his last words were dedicated to consoling his beloved girl.
Source: Hiper Textual
