Requiem for a Dream - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "Requiem for a Dream"
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Timing: 1:42 (102 min)
Requiem for a Dream - TMDB rating
8.012/10
10868
Requiem for a Dream - Kinopoisk rating
8.022/10
452351
Requiem for a Dream - IMDB rating
8.3/10
968000

Actors and characters

Photo Ellen Burstyn #5524Photo Ellen Burstyn #5525Photo Ellen Burstyn #5526Photo Ellen Burstyn #5527

Ellen Burstyn

Ellen Burstyn
Character Sara Goldfarb
Photo Jared Leto #12673Photo Jared Leto #12674Photo Jared Leto #12675Photo Jared Leto #12676

Jared Leto

Jared Leto
Character Harry Goldfarb
Photo Jennifer Connelly #7448Photo Jennifer Connelly #7449Photo Jennifer Connelly #7450Photo Jennifer Connelly #7451

Jennifer Connelly

Jennifer Connelly
Character Marion Silver
Photo Marlon Wayans #21476Photo Marlon Wayans #21477Photo Marlon Wayans #21478Photo Marlon Wayans #21479

Marlon Wayans

Marlon Wayans
Character Tyrone C. Love
Photo Janet Sarno #121959Photo Janet Sarno #121960
Janet Sarno
Character Mrs. Pearlman
Photo Suzanne Shepherd #25090

Suzanne Shepherd

Suzanne Shepherd
Character Mrs. Scarlini
Joanne Gordon
Character Mrs. Ovadia
Charlotte Aronofsky
Character Mrs. Miles
Photo Mark Margolis #27721Photo Mark Margolis #27722

Mark Margolis

Mark Margolis
Character Mr. Rabinowitz
Photo Michael Kaycheck #42589Photo Michael Kaycheck #42590Photo Michael Kaycheck #72022

Michael Kaycheck

Michael Kaycheck
Character Donut Cop
Photo Jack OPhoto Jack OPhoto Jack OPhoto Jack O

Jack O'Connell

Jack O'Connell
Character Corn Dog Stand Boss
Chas Mastin
Character Lyle Russel
Photo Ajay Naidu #57742

Ajay Naidu

Ajay Naidu
Character Mailman
Photo Sean Gullette #125864Photo Sean Gullette #125865

Sean Gullette

Sean Gullette
Character Arnold the Shrink
Photo Samia Shoaib #51064
Samia Shoaib
Character Nurse Mall
Photo Peter Maloney #46813Photo Peter Maloney #46814

Peter Maloney

Peter Maloney
Character Dr. Pill
Abraham Abraham
Character King Neptune
Aliya Campbell
Character Alice
Te'ron A. O'Neal
Character Young Tyrone
Photo Denise Dowse #58338Photo Denise Dowse #58339

Denise Dowse

Denise Dowse
Character Tyrone's Mother
Bryan Chattoo
Character Brody
Eddie De Harp
Character Brody's Henchman Victor
Scott Franklin
Character Jailer (voice)
Peter Cheyenne
Character Sal the Geep

Brian Costello

Brian Costello
Character First AD
Photo Abraham Aronofsky #38278
Abraham Aronofsky
Character Newspaper Man on Train
Photo James Chinlund #11255Photo James Chinlund #11256Photo James Chinlund #11257

James Chinlund

James Chinlund
Character Space Oddity
Photo Olga Merediz #12217Photo Olga Merediz #12218Photo Olga Merediz #12219

Olga Merediz

Olga Merediz
Character Malin & Block Secretary
Allison Furman
Character Malin & Block Office Woman
Robert Dylan Cohen
Character Paramedic Greenhill
Photo Ben Shenkman #76349Photo Ben Shenkman #76350

Ben Shenkman

Ben Shenkman
Character Dr. Spencer
Photo Keith David #22354Photo Keith David #22355Photo Keith David #22356Photo Keith David #22357

Keith David

Keith David
Character Big Tim
Photo Dylan Baker #26325Photo Dylan Baker #26326Photo Dylan Baker #26327Photo Dylan Baker #26328

Dylan Baker

Dylan Baker
Character Southern Doctor
Photo Shaun O
Shaun O'Hagan
Character Ward Attendant Seto
Leland Gantt
Character Ward Attendant Penn
Photo Bill Buell #103694
Bill Buell
Character Court Doctor
Photo Jimmie Ray Weeks #64961
Jimmie Ray Weeks
Character Prison Guard
Photo Gregg Bello #38294
Gregg Bello
Character E.R. Doctor
Photo Henry Stram #45859
Henry Stram
Character ECT Technician
Photo Heather Litteer #127096Photo Heather Litteer #127097Photo Heather Litteer #127098

Heather Litteer

Heather Litteer
Character Big Tim Party Girl
Jenny Decker
Character Big Tim Party Girl
Ami Goodheart
Character Big Tim Party Girl
Nina Zavarin
Character Big Tim Party Girl
Photo Stanley B. Herman #38308Photo Stanley B. Herman #38309
Stanley B. Herman
Character Uncle Hank
Scott Bader
Character Party Animal
Jim Centofanti
Character Party Animal
Scott Chait
Character Party Animal
Daniel Clarin
Character Party Animal
Ben Cohen
Character Party Animal
Photo Eric Cohen #127099
Eric Cohen
Character Party Animal
Brett Feinstein
Character Party Animal
Ricky Fier
Character Party Animal
John Getz
Character Party Animal
Andrew Kessler
Character Party Animal
Ross Lombardo
Character Party Animal
Carter Mansbach
Character Party Animal
Scott Miller
Character Party Animal
Todd Miller
Character Party Animal
Joshua Pollack
Character Party Animal
Craig Rallo
Character Party Animal
Geordan Reisner
Character Party Animal
Keith Scandore
Character Party Animal
David Seltzer
Character Party Animal
Chris Varvaro
Character Party Animal
Ricardo Viñas
Character Party Animal
Chad Weiner
Character Party Animal
Jesse Weissberger
Character Party Animal
Greg Weissman
Character Party Animal

Hubert Selby Jr.

Hubert Selby Jr.
Character Laughing Guard
Photo Lianna Pai #107065Photo Lianna Pai #107066

Lianna Pai

Lianna Pai
Character Angelic Nurse
Photo Darren Aronofsky #70150Photo Darren Aronofsky #70151Photo Darren Aronofsky #70152Photo Darren Aronofsky #70153

Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky
Character Visitor (uncredited)

What's left behind the scenes

  • The film is based on Hubert Selby Jr.'s novel "Requiem for a Dream" (1978).
  • The role of Harry Goldfarb was originally intended for Giovanni Ribisi. Darren Aronofsky envisioned the main character as Giovanni after reading the novel.
  • Typically, a standard film consists of 600 continuous shots. "Requiem for a Dream" has around 2000.
  • Director Darren Aronofsky strongly requested that the lead actors, Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans, abstain from sexual contact and sugar for 30 days to understand how people behave when experiencing an overwhelming craving.
  • During Ellen Burstyn's monologue about what it feels like to be old, cinematographer Matthew Libatique accidentally moved the camera away from the subject. Darren was furious, but later understood the reason for the mistake. Ellen's performance was so impactful that the cinematographer gave in to his emotions and cried. Tears, of course, got on the camera lens. To avoid the director's righteous anger, Matthew simply ruined the take.
  • To appear natural on screen, Ellen Burstyn spent approximately 4 hours daily off-set walking around her house in costumes that increased her weight (up to 20 kg) and build. A total of 4 types of neck appliances, 2 bulky suits, and 9 wigs were used during filming.
  • To better embody the character of Harry Goldfarb, Jared Leto lost 13 kilograms and befriended real heroin addicts from Brooklyn.
  • The scene in which Harry talks on the phone with Marion was filmed simultaneously in one soundstage. This was undoubtedly beneficial for the actors, as they could immediately calibrate their reactions to their scene partner.
  • The hallucination in which Harry falls from a great height was filmed using a camera suspended from a bungee cord. The crew had some doubts about whether the camera would stop a few centimeters from the ground. However, no cameras were damaged during the filming of this episode.
  • Filming the television show segments took only one day, and host Christopher McDonald improvised well, which delighted Darren Aronofsky. At the end of the work, the entire film crew thanked Christopher with enthusiastic applause.
  • According to the script, the father of Jennifer Connelly's character is involved in making and selling clothes. In real life, Jennifer Connelly's father is also engaged in this line of business.
  • As we recall, the television broadcasts calls for “three things you must do to change yourself”: — give up meat; — give up sugar; — but we never heard the third slogan, although it is present on the director's DVD release.
  • At the very beginning of the film, we have the opportunity to hear a string quartet preparing to perform the main theme. Before the credits begin, we can hear the conductor’s voice giving the command to start the performance. The musicians are none other than “The Kronos Quartet,” and the soulful music for the film was composed by Clint Mansell.
  • In the film, we can see screenwriter Hubert Selby Jr. (one of the prison guards) and director Aronofsky himself (one of the guests at the party hosted by Big Tim) in episodic roles. In addition, Darren's father can also be seen in the film. He plays a subway passenger telling Sarah Goldfarb that she is terribly emaciated.
  • The scene of the screaming girl in the bathtub underwater was completely borrowed from the Japanese animated film “Perfect Blue” (1997). Darren Aronofsky bought the rights to the film outright, solely to use the aforementioned scene in his work.
  • Big Tim's phone number doesn't adhere to the established Hollywood convention of starting all phone numbers with the combination "555-".
  • At the end of the film, the main characters are holding something in their mouths: -Marion clenches a cash check from one of the partygoers in her mouth; -Sarah clenches a rubber stick between her teeth during electroshock; -Harry has an oxygen mask on; -and only Tyrone is an exception: he experiences stomach cramps.
  • The film never specifies what drug Harry and his friends are using. They refer to it as "shit," "bread," and so on. Judging by the effects (with the exception of dilated pupils) and consequences, it can be assumed it was heroin. However, it's possible this was the author's intention – to show an addiction to drugs in general, not specifically to heroin. In this case, the dilated pupils might have been used deliberately.
  • The man peeling an orange and the truck full of oranges in the scene where the heroes go for a new supply of drugs not only indicate their next destination – Florida – but also serve as a remark referencing the "Godfather" trilogy, where the presence of oranges foreshadows disaster.
  • At the beginning of the film, when Sarah is trying on a dress, a flesh-colored corset with prosthetic "fat" is reflected in the mirror, which she used to appear heavier.
  • In the scene where the boys bring Rabinovich a television, the goose-shaped lamp behind the old man changes position between frames.
  • When Harry calls Marion for the last time, she answers with her right hand and brings the phone to her opposite (left) ear. Following this, the director intended a mirror image shot, but the hand in the frame is her left, not her right.
  • Director Darren Aronofsky strongly asked the lead male actors, Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans, to abstain from sexual contact and sugar for 30 days in order to understand how people behave when experiencing overwhelming desire.
  • During Ellen Burstyn’s monologue about what it feels like to be old, operator Matthew Libatique accidentally moved the camera away from the subject. Darren was furious, but later understood the reason for the operator’s mistake. The scene performed by Ellen impressed the operator so much that he gave free rein to his emotions and cried.
  • To appear natural, Ellen Burstyn spent about 4 hours a day off-set walking around her house in prosthetics that increased her weight by 20 kg. A total of 4 types of neck prosthetics, 2 bulky suits, and 9 wigs were used during filming.
  • To get into character, Jared Leto lost 13 kilograms and befriended real heroin addicts from Brooklyn.
  • The scene where Harry talks on the phone with Marion was filmed in one soundstage simultaneously. This benefited the actors, as they could immediately calibrate their reactions.
  • The hallucination in which Harry falls from a great height was filmed using a camera suspended on a zip line. The crew had some doubts whether the camera would be able to stop a few centimeters from the ground. No cameras were damaged during the filming of this episode.
  • Filming the segments of the television show took only one day, and the host, Christopher McDonald, improvised well, which delighted Darren Aronofsky himself.
  • According to the script, Jennifer Connelly's character's father is involved in making and selling clothes. In real life, Jennifer Connelly's father was involved in exactly this area of business.
  • The film features a call for "three things you must do to change yourself": give up meat, give up sugar, and the third slogan appears in the director's cut of the film.
  • The scene of a screaming girl underwater in a bathtub was completely borrowed from the Japanese animated film "Perfect Blue." Rumors circulated that Darren Aronofsky bought the rights to the film solely to use that scene in his work, but this is not true — the anime authors did not receive any royalties.
  • The film does not directly state what drug the characters are using. They refer to it as shit, bread, etc.
  • At the beginning of the film, when Sarah is trying on a dress, a flesh-colored corset with padding is reflected in the mirror, used to make the actors appear heavier.
  • In the scene where the characters bring Rabinovich a television, the goose-shaped lamp behind the old man changes position between shots.
  • The last time Harry calls Marion, she answers the phone with her right hand and holds it to her opposite left ear. Following this, according to the director’s intention, is a mirror image shot, but the hand in the frame is her left, not her right.
  • The film features a call for "three things you must do to change yourself": give up meat, give up sugar, and the third slogan is present in the director's cut of the film.
  • The scene of a screaming girl underwater in a bathtub was completely borrowed from the Japanese animated film "True Tears." Rumors circulated that Darren Aronofsky bought the rights to the film solely to use that scene in his work, but this is not true—the anime’s creators did not receive any royalties.
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