Videodrome - Cast

Cast

• James Woods as Max Renn. Woods' character was named after the Renn Max racing motorcycle. Renn means "race" in German. Director David Cronenberg was obsessed with motorcycles at the time. Cronenberg has described Renn as "flippant" (especially in his responses on The Rena King Show).
• Deborah Harry as Nikki Brand. Cronenberg said that the "Nikki" refers to the razor cuts, or nicks, on her back and the "Brand" refers to the moment when she brands herself with a cigarette burn to her breast.
• Sonja Smits as Bianca O'Blivion
• Peter Dvorsky as Harlan
• Leslie Carlson as Barry Convex
• Jack Creley as Professor Brian O'Blivion. Professor O'Blivion was based on Marshall McLuhan. As a young man, Cronenberg attended the University of Toronto; first studying science, but eventually gaining his degree in Literature. McLuhan was a lecturer in media studies at the University during the same time (the early 1970s), and is often credited as an influence on Cronenberg's ideas for Videodrome. Cronenberg has described O'Blivion as "complex."
• Reiner Schwartz as Moses. Before acting, Schwartz was a notable Chum FM DJ in the Toronto area.
• David Tsubouchi as Japanese porn dealer. Tsubouchi later became the Minister of Culture in the Ontario provincial government. His appearance in this controversial film as a pornographer was exploited by the opposition.
• David Cronenberg (uncredited) as Max Renn. According to Cronenberg, Woods was so scared to put on the pulsating device that Cronenberg took his place to get the shots where Max Renn is sitting down wearing the Image Accumulator.