THE SUPPORTING CAST
Rounding out the cast is David Strathairn as Willy's boss and persistent conscience, District Attorney Joe Lobruto; New Zealand native Cliff Curtis as Nunally's partner, Detective Flores; and Bob Gunton as Nikki's father, Judge Gardner.
The filmmakers were surprised but delighted that Strathairn would consider the supporting role of Joe Lobruto, especially as he accepted the part on the heels of his 2006 Oscar® nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Edward R. Murrow in Good Night and Good Luck.
In discussions with Hoblit, Strathairn explained that he envisioned Willy Beachum being tugged in different directions, as though from a series of bungee cords, each held by people in his life pulling from the other end. Always up for a challenge, Strathairn thought it would be interesting to be a character manipulating one of those cords.
"Lobruto is a small part," says Glenn Gers, "but it's a powerful one. He is the opposite of Nikki and he's pulling Willy in the other direction. He is Willy's conscience waiting to be found.
"David is one of my favorite actors," says the writer, who was only too thrilled to watch Strathairn interpret his lines. "It's wonderful to see him being celebrated at last. He brought a real decency to the part, which is what Willy needs to see when he's dealing with the consequences of taking the wrong path."
"Lobruto likes to think of himself as Willy's mentor," says Strathairn, "not just as his boss. He's proud he made the choice to be a D.A. and not go for the big bucks at some huge firm, so there's a flint edge between Willy and him that motivates Lobruto's behavior."
"Willy and Lobruto have each other all wrong," says Ryan Gosling. "Willy thinks Lobruto is a self-righteous public servant and Lobruto thinks Willy is a sellout, a punk. Their relationship is about figuring out how right or how wrong each is about the other."
Strathairn is another of Gosling's acting heroes. "I love David's work," says Gosling. "It was an honor to work with him. He's very inclusive in terms of his process, which was great for someone like me. He's a gardener in real life and that describes exactly how he works; he rolls up his sleeves and really gets his hands dirty."
"I've never done a role like this where you're essentially a messenger," says Strathairn. "There's a lot of exposition brought to bear through the D.A.'s office about the case, about Willy and his journey. The challenge is in adding to the mix and not being a boring, utilitarian information center."
Cliff Curtis portrays Rafael Flores, the detective on duty fated to catch the Crawford attempted-homicide case. Unfortunately for Willy, the only people Flores dislikes more than criminals are lawyers. Known for his role in Whale Rider, Curtis is used to playing a wide variety of ethnicities and nationalities. A chameleon, Curtis is quickly becoming a master at different regional accents. His dedication to acting and his curiosity to learn more about his character enticed the filmmakers to expand the role.
"Cliff is electrifying," says Gregory Hoblit. "His presence and personality are unusual, and he has this deadpan way about him, but because his accent is pretty distinct, we had to really work on that. He didn't really have a frame of reference in terms of being a cop, so he was ferocious about getting it right. No actor was as intent about the process."
By all rights, Detective Flores and Willy Beachum should be comrades in arms, strategizing to put the criminal behind bars, but they soon find themselves in a stalemate, frustrated at the lack of hard evidence for what should be a clear-cut conviction.
"Flores and Willy are completely different personalities," explains Ryan Gosling. "They're from different backgrounds with different life perspectives but they have to work together on this case. They kind of blame each other for the situation they're in."
Another small but important role is that of Nikki's father, Judge Gardner. Hoblit remembered Bob Gunton from his performance as the warden in The Shawshank Redemption and knew that casting director Deborah Aquila was old friends with the actor. "Bob is stolid," describes Hoblit. "We needed someone who was credible and like Jennifer Crawford, memorable. When Deb brought up Bob, it was an easy choice."
More Production Notes:
THE ORIGINS OF FRACTURE CRAFTING THE SCRIPT THE MALE LEADS THE LEADING LADIES ACHIEVING VERISIMILITUDE FILMING FRACTURE
