Apparently a relatively famous actor was cast as Mel but withdrew the day before filming. Steve Cannell said on the DVD interviews that this guy's father rang him and asked if he could get out of the show because he needed to go into rehab. Does anyone know who this actor was? Good thing he withdrew, since it gave Kevin Spacey his break.
shareThat's a great question. I've always wondered about that. It's hard to imagine anybody else in the role. I'm guessing they will never mention the actor's name in respect to his privacy.
shareI'm A Close friend of Kevin Spacey's and he said it was Billy Bob Thornton!! that pulled out at the last minute and gave him his break
shareGary Cole was slated to star as Melvin Profitt, but pulled out at the last minute due to substance abuse issues.
shareI worked on every episode of the series and can confirm docpepperin's info.
shareFilmtunes-2, I sent you an email. I have a couple questions about Wiseguy. Can you email me when you get this? Thanks! Dan
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We lucked out. Not only did we get Kevin Spacey, but Cole would have had quick success. He may have been too big to give us his great performances as Lunberg and Harvey Birdman.
Poets are made by fools like me, but only God can make STD.
close friend er?
well seems Kevin told you BS! or you are full of BS
It WAS Gary Cole. He even talked about it in an interview back in the 80s (http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1989-01-02/lifestyle/8901030313_1_ gary-cole-jack-killian-midnight-caller), though he said then "It just didn't work out in negotiations." Though he might not of been comfortable admitting to his substance abuse issues then.
I read another interview with Cole where he mentioned turning down a "great part" due to his substance abuse problem and it sounded like he was talking about Mel Profitt. I can't find this interview online, but it was around the time he was in American Gothic.
Here's the full interview:
Gary Cole In 'Midnight Caller' Hot Seat
January 2, 1989|By Jay Bobbin, Tribune TV Log
If any television star can appreciate the current rage surrounding talk radio, it has to be Gary Cole.
The actor, who first gained prominence with his portrayal of convicted killer Jeffrey MacDonald in the top-rated 1984 miniseries Fatal Vision, is now seen at 10 p.m. Tuesdays as the highly opinionated moderator of a late-night San Francisco call-in show on NBC's drama Midnight Caller. Cole's character, Jack Killian, is a former policeman who left the force after he accidentally killed his partner in a shootout. Offered the radio job by wealthy young station owner Devon King (Wendy Kilbourne), Killian now uses the medium to disperse information and dispel myths about the law and self-protection, often stirring controversy.
Although its ratings have been nothing to call home - or even Jack Killian - about yet, Midnight Caller is gaining critical notice, both for its unusual style and for Cole's performance in the leading role.
''It didn't seem like I had to invent a personality for this guy,'' Cole said, ''because the character and the dialogue are real strong, and his attitude is real apparent. The format of his show reminds me of The Larry King Show, but he isn't really patterned after anybody, so a lot of him is just the way that I am. I had a lot of theater training in Chicago, and there may be some things that connect this to some of the work I did there, having to do with people who had a short fuse, or who were in violent situations.'
Cole almost ended up in a television series situation last season, though it wouldn't have given him the potential for a very long run.
He had discussions with the producers of the CBS crime drama Wiseguy about playing Mel Profitt, the manic-depressive underworld mastermind with an unusually close attachment to his sister.
But Cole says that ''It just didn't work out in negotiations.'' (The part eventually went to Kevin Spacey.)
However, Cole kept busy by working in the Chicago companies known as the Remains Theatre (which he helped to found) and Steppenwolf, of which he is still an ensemble member.
''The last thing I did on stage was in the fall of '86. I did two plays, a new one called 'Bang,' and then Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. ''The company is in a position now where a lot of the members are off and doing other things, but I think that only adds credibility to the company back in Chicago.''