Remembering Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Making Of Indiana Jones
6. Indiana Jones And The Rest Of The Cast
The
next most important cast member after Indy himself was feisty fireplug Marion
Ravenwood, Jones’s off-and-on lover and key companion on the quest to locate
the Ark of the film’s title.
Spielberg wanted Amy Irving, his girlfriend at the time, for the role but Irving was unavailable. Debra Winger is reported to have been offered the part and Sean Young was also considered, but relative newcomer Karen Allen ultimately won the day after impressing in the audition process.
The part of Indy’s funhouse-mirror rival and nemesis René Belloq went to English actor Paul Freeman after Spielberg took note of him in controversial docudrama Death Of A Princess, while fellow countryman Alfred Molina made his big screen bow as the unfortunate turncoat Sapiro.
In fact, with Denholm Elliot aboard as museum curator Marcus Brody and John Rhys-Davies given the role of Sallah after Danny DeVito’s pay demands ruled him out, the cast took on a distinctly British feel.
Ronald Lacey was also cast as Gestapo interrogator Major Toht, though Spielberg initially approached German firebrand Klaus Kinski for the role. Kinski, famously a thorn in Werner Herzog’s side to the point where the director threatened to shoot him on set, wanted to work with Spielberg but rejected the offer because of the “moronically sh*tty” script.
Conversely, Ford saw the script as “an incredible opportunity”, but committing its scenes and words to celluloid would not be without its challenges.