``Midnight Run'' A monumental buddy movie where two great actors have great chemistry.

Robert De Niro is not a big star who can call customers by name! ?

Paramount, which held the film production rights, was not very keen on Robert De Niro playing the role of the main character, bounty hunter Jack Walsh. They thought De Niro was a great actor, but not a big star who could attract customers by name. In fact, the only A-list stars considered for the role of Jack were Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Richard Gere, Mickey Rourke, Michael Douglas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone.

Even after Robert De Niro was officially cast as the lead role, Paramount desperately needed a money-making star to play the other lead role, accountant Jonathan Madukas. Calculating that changing the gender to female would allow for a romantic development, he approached rock singer Cher, but director Martin Brest refused. Next, Paramount recommended Robin Williams, who became a Big name in `` Good Morning, Vietnam '' (1987), but Martin Brest again refused. The director's choice for the role of Jonathan Madukas was Charles Grodin.

"Midnight Run" (C) 1988 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Grodin, who studied ``method acting'' under Lee Strasberg, graduated from the Actors Studio like De Niro. He is a talented actor who has mainly worked on the stage, and he also has a background in comedy, having even served as a host on ``Saturday Night Live.'' However, he is far from being a money-making star and is overwhelmingly plain. Paramount abandoned the project and sold the rights to Universal.

However, Martin Brest, who had a reputation for comedy direction in `` Beverly Hills Cop '' (1984), was confident. The most important thing in a buddy movie is not the name value of the actors, but the chemistry that emerges from the actors' performances.

De Niro x Grodin: Chemistry born from the play of two great actors