20 Things You Didn't Know About Drive
1. Ron Perlman's Specific Reason For Wanting To Play Nino
Ron Perlman is absolutely, positively perfectly cast in the film as Nino "Izzy" Paolozzi, a ruthless associate of Bernie's.
However, the role was one of the last to be cast, and when Perlman tried out for the part, Refn asked him why an actor of his repute wanted to play a role which the director felt wasn't particularly interesting.
Perlman had quite the perfect response for the filmmaker:
"I always wanted to play a Jewish man who wants to be an Italian gangster... because that's what I am – a Jewish boy from New York."
And like that, Refn had been won over, casting Perlman in the part with no further questions.