How Bruce Dern Landed Hitchcock’s Last Film Over Al Pacino

Bruce Dern, a veteran of the silver screen born in 1936, remains one of the last living links to classic Hollywood. Approaching his 90th, Dern’s career has spanned decades, and he’s still turning in top-notch performances. Among his many credits, he can claim the rare feat of appearing in two Alfred Hitchcock films. His first was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it part in 1964’s Marnie, but his second, as George Lumley in Family Plot, was a much meatier role. In that film, he and Barbara Harris’s character, Blanche, get tangled up in a kidnapping caper with a darkly comic twist.

In a chat with Cowboys & Indians magazine, Dern opened up about how he came to be cast in Family Plot. He admitted he was a bit puzzled as to why Hitchcock, whom he called ‘Hitch’, wanted him for the part. Dern recalled a conversation with the director that shed some light on the decision.

“First of all, Bruce, Mr Packino wanted too much money,”

Hitchcock told him, adding,

“He wanted a million dollars.”

Dern went on,

“Hitch doesn’t pay a million dollars. Even Miss [Julie] Andrews and Mr [Paul] Newman didn’t get a million dollars from Hitch [for Torn Curtain]. I said, ‘I see, but that still doesn’t explain it. I don’t quite get what you’re telling me.’ He said, ‘Well, first of all, all [Italians] should have their names spelled phonetically.’ Suddenly, I realised, Mr Packino was Al Pacino.”

Pacino’s Price Tag and Hitchcock’s Health

At the time, Pacino was riding high after starring in Serpico, The Godfather Part II, and Dog Day Afternoon. He was a hot property, and it’s no surprise he was considered for the role of George. You’d reckon most actors would jump at the chance to work with Hitchcock, but the director’s star had faded a bit, and his health was on the decline. Pacino’s million-dollar fee was simply out of reach for the production, and that, combined with Hitchcock’s situation, meant the collaboration never happened.

Hitchcock, never one to mince words, told Dern he was actually more “entertaining” than Pacino would have been.

“I have 1,242 [photos of actors] on the bulletin board, but none of them are interesting,”

he said, before calling Dern the most unpredictable actor he’d ever worked with. Hitchcock meant it as a compliment, though whether Dern saw it that way at the time is anyone’s guess.

Family Plot: Hitchcock’s Final Curtain

Family Plot turned out to be Hitchcock’s swan song, as his health issues caught up with him not long after its release. He passed away four years later, leaving behind a legendary filmography. For Dern, being able to say he starred in the last film of such a giant of cinema must be a surreal feeling. Even if he landed the part because he was a bargain, it’s a claim to fame that’s hard to top.