Cast
Woody Allen said in Conversations with Woody Allen that he wanted to cast Winona Ryder in the title role. He had to replace her with Radha Mitchell because no one would insure Ryder due to her arrest for shoplifting – this would have made it impossible to obtain a film completion bond. Allen stated he was sad because he had written the part for Ryder after working with her on Celebrity. In the same interview, he also claimed to have intended Ferrell’s part for Robert Downey, Jr., but, again, insurance got in the way due to Downey’s history of arrests and drug abuse.
Radha Mitchell plays Melinda in both versions. Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, and Chiwetel Ejiofor star with her in the tragedy, while Will Ferrell and Amanda Peet star with her in the comedy. Steve Carell has a small part as Ferrell’s friend.
The film also stars Wallace Shawn (alluding to his dinner-philosophy argument in My Dinner with Andre) as the comic playwright, Larry Pine as the tragedian, and Brooke Smith as Cassie. All three had appeared in the 1994 film Vanya on 42nd Street, directed by Louis Malle.
The cast includes:
- Radha Mitchell as Melinda
- Chloë Sevigny as Laurel
- Jonny Lee Miller as Lee
- Will Ferrell as Hobie
- Amanda Peet as Susan
- Chiwetel Ejiofor as Ellis
- Wallace Shawn as Sy
- Josh Brolin as Greg
- Vinessa Shaw as Stacey
- Steve Carell as Walt
- Arija Bareikis as Sally
- Matt Servitto as Jack
- Zak Orth as Peter
- Brooke Smith as Cassie
- Daniel Sunjata as Billy
- Larry Pine as Max
- Andy Borowitz as Doug
Read more about this topic: Melinda And Melinda
Famous quotes containing the word cast:
“You have overcome yourself: but why do you show yourself to me only as the one overcome? I want to see the victor: cast roses into the abyss and say, “Here is my thanks to the monster, because it didn’t know how to swallow me!””
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Just as the creative artist is not allowed to choose, neither is he permitted to turn his back on anything: a single refusal, and he is cast out of the state of grace and becomes sinful all the way through.”
—Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926)
“What blessings thy free bounty gives
Let me not cast away;
For God is paid when man receives,
To enjoy is to obey.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)