20 Things You Didn't Know About Zodiac
3. Gary Oldman Was Originally Hired To Play Melvin Belli
The role of lawyer Melvin Belli was memorably played by the great Brian Cox, though Fincher originally eyed the part for his future Mank star Gary Oldman.
Oldman was originally announced to play Belli in July 2005, though the next year Oldman's reps issued a statement denying he was ever involved with the project.
Yet Graysmith himself, who was intimately involved with Zodiac's production, later stated that Oldman was indeed attached, but departed the project over issues with the prosthetics he'd have to wear to achieve the real Belli's full figure.
It's an odd explanation given Oldman's penchant for transforming himself for roles, even wearing a fat suit to play Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour more recently.
Cox of course did a fantastic job, though it's easy to imagine how brilliant Oldman would've also been.