The strangest casting choice ever

How's that odd? Would the role have been better if someone else were in it! Like maybe Harrison Ford?

despite some of the above (wrong) opinions, i agree. AF always struck me as a strange choice. that said, he played his character with an abrasive feel, whether s a "weary & cynical" cop or because he hated this role is open to question. however, it added to this films ambience & gave it that atmosphere which, i believe, makes the film SO MUCH better. a very down-beat feel, almost has you sighing with despaired resignation (along with AF's character, not because it's a poor film) as you watch it. anyhoo. that's my tuppence worth.

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He is an unusual choice, but the film is all the better for it. Love the big cigar and sarky manner. And he gets major bonus points from me because his haircut is absolutely bonkers.

Dustin Hoffman desperately wanted to play the lead in this movie but director Wadleigh wanted his favorite stage actor Finney instead. He picked a few other stage actors for this, including the awesome Hines.

His character is based on a cop in the book "The Wolfen" by Whitley Strieber who is depicted as having a very similar personality and attitude (in the book, the character was named George Wilson as opposed to Dewey Wilson and he had worked with Becky Neff for years and was in love with her but hid it because she was married). I actually pictured someone very much like Albert Finney when I was reading the book (I read it before I saw the movie) and was visualizing the George Wilson character and I imagined someone like Diane Venora as Becky Neff, so it was on the mark casting. I assume the casting director read the novel.

"We all go a little mad sometimes." - Norman Bates

Finney turned up in a few 'off-beat' movies in the early eighties ('Looker' being another)
I think his casting was down to him being a solid actor (with a 'name' of sorts) and because of such, could take risks in stuff that perhaps the likes of Stallone, Pacino or Redford likely thought were below them?

Finney (despite finding success in British movies decades earlier) was only in his mid forties here also