Escape from New York - actors, characters and roles
All actors and their roles in the film "Escape from New York"
Escape from New York (1981)
Timing:
1:39 (99 min)
7.046/10
3479
3479
6.93/10
45055
45055
7.1/10
172000
172000
Actors and characters
John Strobel
Character Cronenberg
Steven Ford
Character Secret Service #2
Ox Baker
Character Slag
Garrett Bergfeld
Character Gypsy #2
Wally Taylor
Character Controller
Ronald E. House
Character Dancer
Richard Cosentino
Character Gypsy Guard
Joel Bennett
Character Gypsy #4
Tobar Mayo
Character Third Indian
Steven M. Gagnon
Character Secret Service #1
Michael Taylor
Character Secret Service #3
Lonnie Wun
Character Red Bandana Gypsy
Dale E. House
Character Helicopter Pilot #1
James O'Hagen
Character Computer Operator
James Emery
Character Trooper
Tom Lillard
Character Police Sergeant
Borah Silver
Character Theatre manager
Tony Papenfuss
Character Theatre Assistant
Clay Wright
Character Helicopter Pilot #3
Alan Shearman
Character Dancer
Ron Vernan
Character Dancer
What's left behind the scenes
- The studio wanted Tommy Lee Jones to play Snake Plissken.
- The computer model of New York that Snake sees on the monitor in the glider is actually not computer graphics. At the time of filming, such computer effects were too expensive. Therefore, to create the illusion of a computer model, the special effects team built a model of the city, painted it black, attached a strip of white color to the miniature buildings, and filmed the result of their work with a film camera.
- The name of the main character, Snake Plissken, was changed to Hyena when the film was shown in Italy; in Korea, the character played by Kurt Russell is called Cobra.
- The scenes on the streets of New York were filmed in St. Louis after a devastating fire that occurred in the city.
- The only scene filmed in New York is one of the characters walking with the Statue of Liberty in the background.
- The shot of the helicopter flying over Central Park was filmed in San Fernando. The building models in the background were made by future filmmaker James Cameron.
- Donald Pleasence came up with a backstory for his character explaining why the President speaks with a British accent. However, Carpenter did not use his idea.
- The end credits state that Joe Anger played Taylor. However, this character does not appear in the film itself. His scenes (the bank robbery) were cut from the film, but his name remained in the closing credits.
- The Duke of New York’s car is a 1977 Cadillac Fleetwood.
- Before meeting Plissken, almost every character in the film believed him to be dead. The same joke was used in "Big Jack" (1971).
- When Snake first meets Cabbie, "Everyone's Coming To New York" is playing.
- John Carpenter has an acquaintance who knew a guy in Cleveland named Snake Plissken, who everyone believed was dead. Carpenter borrowed the name and also added comments from the characters to the film about the supposedly deceased Snake.
- The studio also considered Charles Bronson for the role of Plissken. However, John Carpenter was against this choice, as he believed Bronson was too old for the part.
- The main character of the "Metal Gear Solid" video game series, Solid Snake, was created based on Snake Plissken. Hideo Kojima, the creator of "MGS," personally confirmed that "Escape from New York" is one of his favorite films, and Solid Snake was created based on Plissken.
- Jamie Lee Curtis reads the voice-over at the beginning of the film, but her name is not mentioned in the credits.
- Some music from 'Escape from...' was borrowed for 'Planet Terror' (2007).
- John Carpenter wrote the screenplay for 'Escape from New York' in 1976, following the Watergate scandal. According to the director, the script he wrote was 'brutal, frightening, and unusual,' and therefore no studio wanted to undertake its adaptation. Carpenter was inspired by the then-popular film 'Death Wish.' He liked the depiction of New York as a kind of jungle and wanted to create his own science fiction film based on a similar principle.
- Kurt Russell followed a strict diet and exercise regimen to build muscle mass. Even between takes, Russell tried not to break character, but he preferred to remove the eye patch at those times, as prolonged wear negatively affected his vision.
- Recreating the setting – the semi-destroyed New York – became a problem for Carpenter, as the film's budget was low. The director and production designer Joe Alves decided not to film in real New York, because depicting it as a ruined city was too difficult. Carpenter suggested filming on a studio lot, but Alves wanted to film on real streets and rejected the director's idea. Assistant producer Barry Bernardi, at the behest of Carpenter and Alves, went on a trip across the country to find 'the worst city in America.' Bernardi suggested filming in East St. Louis.
- Carpenter and the film crew agreed with the city government of East St. Louis that the electricity would be turned off during nighttime filming. Filming took place from August to November 1980. Carpenter recalled that for about two and a half months he didn't see daylight at all, because the crew finished filming at 6 a.m., and he went to sleep at 7 a.m. and woke up around 6 p.m.
- Clint Eastwood, Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, and Chuck Norris also auditioned for the role of Snake Plissken.
- The main character of the “Metal Gear Solid” computer game series, Solid Snake, was created based on Snake Plissken. Hideo Kojima, the creator of “MGS,” personally confirmed that “Escape from New York” is one of his favorite films, and Solid Snake was created based on Plissken.
- John Carpenter wrote the screenplay for "Escape from New York" in 1976, following the Watergate scandal. According to the director, the screenplay he wrote was "brutal, scary, and unusual," and therefore no studio wanted to undertake its adaptation. Carpenter was inspired by the popular film "Death Wish" at the time. He liked the depiction of New York as a kind of jungle and wanted to create his own science fiction film based on a similar principle.
- Recreating the setting – a semi-destroyed New York – became a problem for Carpenter, as the film's budget was low. The director and production designer Joe Alves decided not to film in real New York, because depicting it as a ruined city was too difficult. Carpenter suggested filming on a studio lot, but Alves wanted to film on real streets and rejected the director's idea. Assistant producer Barry Bernardi, at the behest of Carpenter and Alves, went on a trip across the country to find "the worst city in America." Bernardi suggested filming in East St. Louis.
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