Focus Features

Paul Newman in The Verdict

Paul Newman – who died just over a year ago – was the pre-eminent male movie star of his generation, with Steve McQueen and Robert Redford trailing in his wake.

Over a 50-year career in movies. he evolved from the Method-ish torment of Somebody Up There Likes Me (having taken over from James Dean), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Hustler to the consummate ease of Butch Cassidy and The Sting to the raw vulnerability of The Verdict, Nobody's Fool and Road to Perdition.

In his biography of Newman, Daniel O'Brien discusses Newman's performance in The Verdict:

“Newman was sent the script of The Verdict by the film's director Sidney Lumet. The pair had been friends since their days in live television, back in the 1950s. Agreeing to star as Galvin in the film, Newman said "It's a very interesting character for me, because he's so unlike Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy or any of the other cool, collected types I've played. Galvin's frightened. He's living on the edge and he's panicking...he's a believable, fallible human being and I think that's why people will be able to identify with him.

Very much an actors' director, Lumet shared Newman's belief in pre-production rehearsals: "Good acting is really self-revelation...it takes time to get people free enough to do that."  Then in his late 50s, Newman welcomed the chance to play a character close to his actual age: "It was such a relief to let it all hang out in the movie – blemishes and all." Describing Galvin as a "very compelling and difficult character", Newman didn't find him completely until filming began. He gave most of the credit to his fellow actors: "They're like litmus paper. You throw something at them and they flash back an extraordinary color that you then respond to." For him, The Verdict was a prime example of cinema as a "community medium".

Co-star Milo O'Shea felt that Newman had matured into a fine actor, leaving behind the "pretty boy" image that limited his opportunities: "Paul was 'sold' on his looks. Now there are some lines and wrinkles in his face giving him the character that perhaps he has been seeking." O'Shea also suggested that the tragic death of Newman's son "had a great effect on his work and his life. He really is feeling his way into a deeper part of himself, to a layer that has never been exposed before." A.E. Hotchner - an old friend and a partner in Newman's Own food products - saw a new boldness and maturity in Newman's performance: " I feel that he's finally opened himself up as he used to on the stage...now he's not playing it as safe in his films."

Extract taken from Paul Newman by Daniel O'Brien (Faber & Faber, 2004).

Essential Viewing: Somebody Up There Likes Me [Buy], The Left-Handed Gun [Buy], Cat on A Hot Tin Roof [Buy], The Hustler [Buy], Sweet Bird of Youth [Buy], Hud [Buy], The Moving Target, Cool Hand Luke [Buy], Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid [Buy], The Sting [Buy], Slap Shot [Buy], The Verdict [Buy], The Color of Money [Buy], Mr. and Mrs. Bridge [Buy], Nobody's Fool [Buy], Road to Perdition [Buy].
  

Paul Newman in The Verdict

Paul Newman – who died just over a year ago – was the pre-eminent male movie star of his generation, with Steve McQueen and Robert Redford trailing in his wake.

Over a 50-year career in movies. he evolved from the Method-ish torment of Somebody Up There Likes Me (having taken over from James Dean), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Hustler to the consummate ease of Butch Cassidy and The Sting to the raw vulnerability of The Verdict, Nobody's Fool and Road to Perdition.

In his biography of Newman, Daniel O'Brien discusses Newman's performance in The Verdict:

“Newman was sent the script of The Verdict by the film's director Sidney Lumet. The pair had been friends since their days in live television, back in the 1950s. Agreeing to star as Galvin in the film, Newman said "It's a very interesting character for me, because he's so unlike Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy or any of the other cool, collected types I've played. Galvin's frightened. He's living on the edge and he's panicking...he's a believable, fallible human being and I think that's why people will be able to identify with him.

Very much an actors' director, Lumet shared Newman's belief in pre-production rehearsals: "Good acting is really self-revelation...it takes time to get people free enough to do that."  Then in his late 50s, Newman welcomed the chance to play a character close to his actual age: "It was such a relief to let it all hang out in the movie – blemishes and all." Describing Galvin as a "very compelling and difficult character", Newman didn't find him completely until filming began. He gave most of the credit to his fellow actors: "They're like litmus paper. You throw something at them and they flash back an extraordinary color that you then respond to." For him, The Verdict was a prime example of cinema as a "community medium".

Co-star Milo O'Shea felt that Newman had matured into a fine actor, leaving behind the "pretty boy" image that limited his opportunities: "Paul was 'sold' on his looks. Now there are some lines and wrinkles in his face giving him the character that perhaps he has been seeking." O'Shea also suggested that the tragic death of Newman's son "had a great effect on his work and his life. He really is feeling his way into a deeper part of himself, to a layer that has never been exposed before." A.E. Hotchner - an old friend and a partner in Newman's Own food products - saw a new boldness and maturity in Newman's performance: " I feel that he's finally opened himself up as he used to on the stage...now he's not playing it as safe in his films."

Extract taken from Paul Newman by Daniel O'Brien (Faber & Faber, 2004).

Essential Viewing: Somebody Up There Likes Me [Buy], The Left-Handed Gun [Buy], Cat on A Hot Tin Roof [Buy], The Hustler [Buy], Sweet Bird of Youth [Buy], Hud [Buy], The Moving Target, Cool Hand Luke [Buy], Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid [Buy], The Sting [Buy], Slap Shot [Buy], The Verdict [Buy], The Color of Money [Buy], Mr. and Mrs. Bridge [Buy], Nobody's Fool [Buy], Road to Perdition [Buy].