Larry Wilcox Auditions for Miami Vice


Mr. Calderon

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Yes but listen to any interview with DJ when they talk about the "look"  Don will tell you that the look pretty much evolved out of necessity. Working long hours in the Miami heat caused Don to dress in T-shirts and lose the socks, so I think it's better to say that Don created the look rather than fit into some pre conceived idea of what Sonny should look like. 

 

Also to add to my previous statement. We can't picture anybody else but DJ as Sonny Crockett because that's all we know. There are many such stories in Hollywood. I mean can you picture anyone else but Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones?  I read someplace that Tom Selleck was one of the previous choices. I also read that Tom Cruise wanted the role of Tony Stark / Iron Man!  To me, Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark but then again if Cruise had gotten the part....? Who knows!?

 

 

So true, when Hollywood gets the right actor/actress for a part that becomes iconic, we fans simply cannot see anyone else playing that part.  Another example, R Lee Ermey's portrayal as the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket.  Or Arnold as the Terminator.  Or Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man in the horror films Phantasm.  As for the ladies, I cannot see anyone else being Ripley from the Alien series than Sigourney Weaver. 

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  • 3 years later...
On 10/4/2015 at 8:53 PM, Mr. Calderon said:

Not sure if someone posted it yet.

 

Really curious...i would like to see the whole test.. Even Don´s and Philip´s....

 

So Larry, why are you so angry? lol  Not really bad...

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPEKr2UP404

I didn't know this! I still prefer Don Johnson in the role, but Larry Wilcox had a good audition! He even tried to get the hair right!! 

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On 10/5/2015 at 5:27 PM, Mr. Calderon said:

More about from:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://larrywilcox.net/ask-larry-december-edition/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Mann asked me to read for this series called Miami Vice.  He asked if I would grease my hair back and have stubble and moustache and be a hard ass.  I said sure….and when I read for the part he was one intense bastard which was his protective shell of his soft heart.  I really enjoyed the character I defined and it was for Universal Studios in association with NBC.  My agent told me they had read tons of actors and could not find the right guy.  They had read even Don Johnson originally according to my sources.

 

 

When Universal saw my screen test they went crazy saying that I was one of the finest and most intense actors they had ever seen in a screen test and told my agent, David Shapira, that I should have been a screen star with that intensity.  I wallowed in the ego of those statements and of course…….agreed.

 

 

Then they said that we need you to read with other actors to see if we can find someone that will be good with you.  I read with many actors and did stunts and fight scenes and all kinds of crap for Michael Mann and the writer.  Later I found out that the writer of the orig series pilot did not want me and was perhaps just using me to read other actors.  I went and read for NBC for the final decision and Brandon Tartikoff, the esteemed President of NBC, said in his book, that Larry Wilcox was the choice for Miami Vice.  On the day before Christmas after helping them (universal and Michael Mann) to find an actor, taking hits to my face in fight scenes and all of the other such tests…..I was informed that it was all bull**** and they were not going to use me and in fact were going to use Don Johnson.  It was a cold blow and a manipulative blow the day before Christmas and I was upset and dejected.  I wondered about all the compliments and all the hoopla and the lies or truth of it all.  I still do not know what happened but it could have been the writer, it could have been an Agent pulling a move with other actors in some other production IF they would take Don Johnson on Miami Vice, or it could have been Don was just great.  In retrospect, I think they made the RIGHT choice!

 

 

I came very close to starring in Rich man Poor Man after Nick Nolte left the series but that became an ugly political thing with a casting director who hated me because one time as a young actor on a TV commercial I pushed for getting travel pay and a meal penalty and she was very upset with my Union like behavior.  In retrospect…..she was right as my selfish and pompous choices were not giving but she should not have taken revenge on me like she did my entire career.

 

 

I was also chosen to do Full Metal Jacket and they wanted me to work for Scale ad they did when they wanted me to do Boys in Company C about Vietnam.  I thought I was an ARTISTE then and passed on the SCALE (minimums) pay.  In retrospect, I won the roles and I should have done them…..they might have changed my career.

 

Good followup to that screen test! 

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ABC wanted Don to be the original Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica but Glen Larson didn't want him because of his accent.  Wonder if there was ever a screen test or photos? 

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From my copy of Sci-Fi Universe June 1995-Number Seven:

In the case of Starbuck, many actors, including Don Johnson, were tested for the role  until Larson came upon Dirk Benedict.  "I liked Dirk." says Larson.  "I had always felt Dirk was a real natural for this.  I tested him twice and I didn't get it off the first one so I went back and did another version.  I was lobbying pretty heavily for him."

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18 hours ago, Bren10 said:

From my copy of Sci-Fi Universe June 1995-Number Seven:

In the case of Starbuck, many actors, including Don Johnson, were tested for the role  until Larson came upon Dirk Benedict.  "I liked Dirk." says Larson.  "I had always felt Dirk was a real natural for this.  I tested him twice and I didn't get it off the first one so I went back and did another version.  I was lobbying pretty heavily for him."

Very interesting, Thankyou for that information.

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Isnt amazing? 5 pilots...would be galactica and knight rider one of these five? I would like to have an agent like Don´s to place me in every possible tv show...

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My understanding was that he actually appeared in several pilots that weren't picked up, some of which were never aired.  That was how he got a reputation as a jinx for awhile.  Anyone ekse have any info?

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  • 2 years later...
On 2/2/2019 at 4:12 PM, Bren10 said:

ABC wanted Don to be the original Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica but Glen Larson didn't want him because of his accent.  Wonder if there was ever a screen test or photos? 

Glenn Larson didn't like his southern accent :D

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On 10/5/2015 at 10:20 PM, Mr. Calderon said:

I would love to see, Knight Rider screen test with Don Johnson :)

Man, i'd pay good money for the laugh! "Kitt pall, will you turbo boost those two slow cadillacs up front?" "Kitt pal, will ya shut up before i turn you into a can opener?" "Listen kitt pal, you wrecked my head already with your crap" "hey Bonnie (wink) are you free for a drink later?"

"Micheal, i'm taking you off the streets!" "Devon, what the hell is this about? I was this close to Calderone hem Garth Knight that kitt lost him half a block before it went radio slient" :)

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On 10/11/2015 at 12:38 AM, summer84 said:

Mickey Rourke was considered to play Sonny Crockett but turned it down. 

Mickey Rourke could have pulled it in my opinion...he had the looks and the "bad boy vibe" to play the undercover cop part. He was great in the 'Year of the dragon', which came out in '85 when MV became a global phenomenon. Funnily Mickey Rourke and DJ starred together in 'Harley Davidson and Marlboro men'.

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39 minutes ago, sdiegolo78 said:

Mickey Rourke could have pulled it in my opinion...he had the looks and the "bad boy vibe" to play the undercover cop part. He was great in the 'Year of the dragon', which came out in '85 when MV became a global phenomenon. Funnily Mickey Rourke and DJ starred together in 'Harley Davidson and Marlboro men'.

Did you ever see Rourke as the 50’s P.I. in Angel Heart?  It got a lot of attention when it came out for the sex scene he did with Lisa Bonet and it’s initial X rating, but it’s a solid film, and he’s good in it.

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17 hours ago, pahonu said:

Did you ever see Rourke as the 50’s P.I. in Angel Heart?  It got a lot of attention when it came out for the sex scene he did with Lisa Bonet and it’s initial X rating, but it’s a solid film, and he’s good in it.

Yes i did see that movie. Rourke was excellent. I also enjoyed the scene with De Niro when the latter offered the former some eggs. Mickey Rourke character declined saying he has a thing with chickens :D

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On 2/5/2019 at 8:09 PM, Mr. Calderon said:

I heard dirk would be crockett but later don took the role...well...who knows...

Dirk Benedict as Crockett? It couldn't possibly have auditioned for MV since he was working on the A-Team series.

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Wilcox's skills are actually a bit underrated. He may or may not have made a decent Crockett but he was dead-on as the typical, mirrored sunglasses-wearing highway patrolman. At the same time he also had enough range to give a character dimension. He was another casualty of being on a successful show and the typecasting/stigma that comes with it.

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Mickey Rourke fits the part. Has the stubble to pull it off.  Sorry but Larry Wilcox is a little too dorky.   

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Am 18.2.2021 um 00:33 schrieb Mr. Vigilante:

Mickey Rourke would've been an interesting choice.  Terrific actor!  I can see him with the sunglasses and a cigarette.

Sorry, but for me Mickey Rourke was never a good looking man and I can't imagine him to play Sonny Crockett. Of course some of you are right when claiming that we all only know DJ in this role. It's the same with other roles of the series. I had read that PMT first applied for Castillos role. I think none of us can see him in this role, because it is strongly shaped by EJO.

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  • 2 months later...
On 2/17/2021 at 5:07 PM, sdiegolo78 said:

Yes i did see that movie. Rourke was excellent. I also enjoyed the scene with De Niro when the latter offered the former some eggs. Mickey Rourke character declined saying he has a thing with chickens :D

Yes I saw it too  and was surprised how good it was!

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