Few figures from Hollywood’s Golden Age loom as large asOrson Welles.
How then do you find the right person to portray such a towering figure?
Welles is a rising director on the cusp of triumph, with an ego to match.
Credit: NETFLIX
And those are big shoes to fill.
MankdirectorDavid Finchertells EW he set out to find his Welles with a specific note in mind.
“Not to be derisive, but he looked like a giant infant.
He’s fleshy and his features are very rounded.
He had a rounded nose and rounded cheekbones.
I really wanted to get that idea of this big kid.”
That all changed when Fincher found Tom Burke, who plays Welles in the film.
But it’s his voice that is unmistakable.
“But the thing that I kept coming back to was his voice was beautiful.
His voice is very hypnotic, and we gave him recordings of Welles and encouraged him.
Tom had the power.
Tom had the gravitas.
Tom had the presence, and he could definitely develop the voice.”
Welles' speech is conveyed through voice-over, as if he were on a radio broadcast.
But that wasn’t the original plan.
“It was funny in a bad way.
Thus the final, more emotional version of the scene was born.
Welles has been gone since 1985, and yet he’s still finding ways to change the final cut.
