Primal Fear

Primal Fear (1996)

Timing: 2:10 (130 min)

7.655/10
3859

7.776/10
117914

7.7/10
281000

All about film

Video 1

Photo 56

Actors and characters

Release date

1996-03-06

Country

United States

Production

Paramount, Rysher Entertainment

Genre

Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Budget

$30 000 000

Revenue

$102 616 183

Website

Director

Gregory Hoblit

Actors

Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Edward Norton, John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand, Terry O'Quinn, Andre Braugher, Steven Bauer, Joe Spano
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Gary Lucchesi, Hawk Koch

Operator

Michael Chapman

Composer

James Newton Howard

Artist

Audition

Deborah Aquila, Jane Shannon-Smith

Editing

David Rosenbloom
All team (56)

• The film is based on William Diehl's novel "Primal Fear" (1993).
• Initially, the role of Edward Norton was intended for Leonardo DiCaprio.
• The film's slogan is a slightly altered quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." The full quote reads: "No man can long be a hypocrite: to have one face for himself, and another for the crowd; at last he will lose himself, and cease to know which is the true one."
• A total of 2,100 actors auditioned for the role of Aaron, which went to Edward Norton.
• Many aspiring actors actively sought the role of Aaron, as it was believed that a role of this nature would greatly benefit their careers. Matt Damon recounted that he didn't get cast in Peter Weir's "Dead Poets Society" (1989) and really wanted to be in "Primal Fear." Another actor was cast, and Damon and Ben Affleck decided not to wait for another opportunity, thinking they needed to do something about it. As a result, the screenplay for the drama "Good Will Hunting" (Gus Van Sant, 1997) was born, and filming it significantly helped both actors' careers.
• Leonardo DiCaprio turned down the role of Aaron because he was exhausted from filming the drama "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" (Lasse Hallström, 1993).
• The character played by Alfre Woodard was originally written as a 60-year-old white man.
• The idea that Aaron would stutter belonged to Edward Norton (this was not written in either the literary source material or the script). Richard Gere's reaction when Norton throws him against the wall in prison was completely genuine – and at Norton's suggestion, it was also left in the film. Finally, Norton's last improvisation in the film was the slow clapping at the end, just before the explosion.
• The film's slogan is a slightly altered quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." The full quote reads: "No man can long be a hypocrite: to have one face for himself, and another for the crowd; at last he will lose himself, and which is his true face he knows not."