Daredevil (2003)

THE DAREDEVIL filmmakers have assembled a cast with the emotional and physical substance to bring life to the dark, exciting, and sometimes humorous world of Matt Murdock and Daredevil.

Their top priority, of course, was casting the role of The Man without Fear. The character is like none other in the comics canon. The sightless hero’s fingers can feel the faint impressions of ink on a printed page, allowing him to read by touch. He can perceive minute changes in the temperature and pressure of the surrounding atmosphere. Daredevil can identify individuals by smell alone, no matter how they might try to camouflage their natural odor. He can hear a heartbeat at a distance of twenty feet, tell whether someone is lying by listening to changes in the heart’s rhythm and identify people by the specific patterns of their heartbeats.

Daredevil possesses the acrobatic ability of a circus performer and the pugilistic skills of a heavyweight prizefighter. Though he has studied various Asian martial-arts techniques and American boxing, his fighting style is unique; it includes movements and blows from many disciplines.

Johnson, having read Ben Affleck’s forward to the Kevin Smith graphic novel, knew that the actor was born to play the masked vigilante. "Not only is Ben a talented and physically gifted actor, he’s as big a comic book geek as I am," Johnson laughs. "A bonus was that, at six-three, he’s physically imposing. This story is about believability, so it was important to have an actor who looks like he could play someone who puts his body on the line every night."

"Ben has the acting chops, physical ability, emotional sensitivity and awareness necessary to play Matt Murdock and Daredevil," says Gary Foster. "You also totally believe him as a romantic lead. And being a fan since he was a kid, Ben really understands the world of Daredevil."

Affleck acknowledges that playing Daredevil was more than a typical acting assignment and that he was thrilled to see this important part of his childhood come to life. "The character and comics had this magical kind of mythical appeal to me," he says. "Daredevil is dark and tough, but also sort of sexy and romantic. It’s a challenge to take the two-dimensional medium of comics and create a live-action world, making it believable and compelling, all without betraying the original concept."

Golden Globe®-winning actress Jennifer Garner takes on the role of Matt’s love interest – and Daredevil foe – deadly femme fatale Elektra Natchios, the daughter of Greek business tycoon Nikolas Natchios. Elektra is a consummate practitioner of the martial arts, a mistress of the skills of the ancient ninja of Japan, and an Olympic-level athlete and gymnast. Her weapons of choice: a pair of three-pronged daggers, or sai.

The filmmakers carried out an exhaustive search for the right actress to play Elektra – someone dynamic enough to play a wealthy businessman’s privileged daughter, yet who could turn on a dime and become a lethal warrior. "A lot of people were clamoring for the part," recalls Foster. "We saw people in Los Angeles, New York, Europe and Australia. We had always wanted to bring in Jennifer Garner to read, but she wasn’t available because of her television series. Then schedule changes made it possible for her to meet with us. At that point we had seen hundreds of actresses, but when she came in to read we just knew: ‘There’s Elektra.’"

---

Pages: [1] 2 3 4