Everybody is talking about the New RF with Owen Wilson or VV as Jim.
But, think about it. Patrick Duffy would have been 25 in 1974 not over the hill like Garner. Casting him in that role would have "made" the original show.
Better actor, MUCH hotter younger and with better longevity. Don't get me wrong James Garner was good but Patrick would have made the show a legend.
Better actor, MUCH hotter younger and with better longevity. Don't get me wrong James Garner was good but Patrick would have made the show a legend.
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You have to be kidding sue. James Garner was the perfect choice to play Rockford. He was already a well known TV star from Maverick in the 50s and a top box office movie star, The Great Escape from the 60s. The Rockford Files is a legendary show and had Duffy been the star it would have been a dud.
The Rockford Files was designed for James Garner. It is impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. In which case, you'd have a different series.
shareThe scripts would have been written much differently for anyone else. Through out much of Garner's career he often played reluctant heroes which was a mainstay of the whole series.
shareGarner was Rockford just perfectly, he played the role with a sense of humor and the show was built around him. I think Duffy was an OK actor but he would have been completely wrong to play the character.
I think of new actors who could play the character of Rockford would be Nathan Fillion from Castle. He has the type of sensability to play the part. I have a bad feeling if there is ever a Rockford Files movie it will be played for laughs and I would not care to watch it at all.
Please tell me you're kidding. Rockford is an ex-con, much older, seasoned character. No way Duffy pulls that off. James Garner was the perfect choice!
shareNo, Garner was the right choice.
The show is a legend!
And James Garner made it that.
www.jw.org
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Blasphemy!
Well, I'm kinda relieved that the Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn RF projects appear to have gone nowhere. The role was custom made for Garner, who fell into the character so easily and fully. A re-make would have all the current irony and hipster wink-wink, nudge-nudge stuff going on, and what made the original so believable was Garner's ability to play it straight with just the right little twist of wry. And as for the thread about Patrick Duffy playing the part? Ummmm . . . no. Just no. Duffy would have been too young, too gauche, and too inexperienced to capture Rockford's essence the way Garner did.
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Obviously the OP was screwing with y'all. No way that post was serious.
shareAside from a few weak episodes -- in which the problem was the writing and not the actors -- nothing from the original series needed "improving." And that goes double for James Garner. He was the greatest of all time.
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