``The Verdict'' Paul Newman makes a comeback as Reborn, an elderly lawyer addicted to alcohol.

Characters far different from before

Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Roy Scheider, Frank Sinatra, William Holden... It is said that many distinguished actors aspired to play the lead role of Frank. In the end, it was Paul Newman, who was struggling in a slump (he was also Sidney Lumet's first choice). Taking on the role that his former ally Robert Redford had dropped out of, must have been a difficult decision, given his pride. Or perhaps, on the contrary, he saw playing the role of a fallen lawyer as a once-in-a-lifetime Being There to give the performance of a lifetime. He accepted the role with extraordinary resolve.

Like many other superstar actors, he has played roles much younger than his actual age. Butch Cassidy in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Luke Jackson in A Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1967) look just 30 years old, but are actually in their 40s. The Reggie in Slap Shot looks to be in his late 30s, but is already over 50. But in The Verdict, he has some gray hair and wrinkles on his handsome face. He plays an alcoholic middle-aged lawyer as if he is his own person.

“The Verdict” (c)Photofest / Getty Images

This was a challenge to play a character far removed from the Paul Newman image that we have seen up until now. He made the following comment in an interview:

Interviewer: "How do you think the public will react to your new image? It's very different to what audiences expect from Paul Newman, isn't it?"

Paul Newman: "It will be interesting to see whether the audience will accept me as a frightened, panicked drunk. American audiences are less tolerant of character changes than English, Italian or French audiences.... But I identify with this character because we are all vulnerable in some way." (2)

Paul Newman's performance in this film is undoubtedly one of the highlights of his acting career. The fact that he performed the final argument scene, arguably the most dramatic moment in the film, in one take is now legendary.

Reborn as a Hollywood star