page_title: Raiders of the Lost Ark
section_title: Casting
hierarchical_section_title: Raiders of the Lost Ark / Production / Casting
caption_attribution_description: English: Actor Tom Selleck at the New York PaleyFest 2014 for the TV show "Blue Bloods"
context_page_description: Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, and Denholm Elliott. Ford portrays Indiana Jones, a globe-trotting archaeologist, vying with Nazi forces in 1936, to recover the long-lost Ark of the Covenant, a relic said to make an army invincible. Teaming up with his tough, former-lover Marion Ravenwood, Jones races to stop rival archaeologist Dr. René Belloq from guiding the Nazis to the Ark and its power.
  Lucas conceived Raiders of the Lost Ark in the early 1970s. He wanted to modernize the serial films of the early 20th-century. The idea was further developed with Kaufman who suggested the Ark as the film's goal. Lucas eventually focused on developing his 1977 space opera Star Wars. Development on Raiders of the Lost Ark resumed that year when Lucas shared the idea with Spielberg; he joined the project several months later. While the pair had ideas for significant scenes in the film, they hired Kasdan to fill in the gaps between.
context_section_description: Auditioning actors were not given a script. Spielberg often held auditions in the Lucasfilm kitchens. To help the actors relax, Spielberg had those auditioning early help him bake cookies, and the ones auditioning late would eat them. Those called for a second audition would sometimes be given a hastily written scene to read. Only those called back for a final audition were filmed. 
  Lucas wanted to cast a relatively unknown actor to play Indiana Jones, who would commit to a trilogy of films. Those considered for the role included Tom Selleck, Bill Murray, Nick Nolte, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Tim Matheson, Nick Mancuso, Peter Coyote, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Bridges and John Shea. Spielberg suggested casting Harrison Ford, but Lucas was concerned about using the actor in another film after Star Wars because he did want Ford to become his "Bobby De Niro" or "that guy I put in all my movies"—a reference to Martin Scorsese's  frequent collaborations with Robert De Niro. Lucas' then-wife and frequent collaborator Marcia Lucas favored Selleck, and casting director Mike Fenton preferred Bridges; Bridges turned it down. Selleck had recently worked on the pilot episode of Magnum, P.I. and was contractually obligated to that show if it were to be made into a full series. Selleck had 10 days left on his contract when Lucas and Spielberg asked the shows studio CBS to release Selleck early so they could begin filming Raiders of the Lost Ark. When CBS realized that Selleck was in demand, they greenlit Magnum P.I., forcing Selleck to drop out. Ironically, the actors strike of 1980 put the show in hiatus for three months, which would have allowed Selleck to star as Jones.
  The production had been left with no lead actor, three weeks before the commencement of filming. Accounts differ on how Ford was cast. Spielberg said that Ford was perfect for the role after seeing him in The Empire Strikes Back; Kanzanjian said that Ford had always been considered but not cast because he was already a well-known actor. Lucas did not think Ford would commit to the three-film contract, as he was reluctant to do so to portray Han Solo in Star Wars. However, Ford thought it would be a fun project and agreed to the deal. He negotiated for a seven-figure salary, a percentage of the gross profits, and the option to re-write his dialogue so that Jones did not sound too much like Solo, to avoid being typecast. Ford undertook extensive training to enhance his physique and to learn how to use a bullwhip; Lucas had always envisioned the character wielding a whip. Ford trained for several weeks with the whip under stunt coordinator Glenn Randall and alone. He had to rehabilitate his wrist to compensate for an earlier injury that had never fully healed. Ford saw the character as an academic first, and adventurer second.
  For Jones' love interest Marion Ravenwood, Spielberg wanted someone akin to early 20th-century leading ladies like Irene Dunne, Barbara Stanwyck, and Ann Sheridan, who could hold their own against their male counterparts. Lucas wanted Debra Winger for the role, but she was not interested. Spielberg wanted to cast his then-girlfriend Amy Irving but she was unavailable. Barbara Hershey and Sean Young were also considered; Young went as far as screen testing for the role against Matheson. Allen impressed Spielberg with her professionalism during auditions. One of first things he asked Allen was "how well do you spit?" Allen developed a backstory for Marion that included her mother's death and her affair with Jones when she was 15-16, but Spielberg said it belonged in a different movie. Kasdan named Marion after his wife's grandmother, and took Ravenwood from a street in Los Angeles.
  Belloq was intended to be a sophisticated villain to counter the "beer-drinking" hero. Spielberg cast Freeman after seeing him in the docudrama Death of a Princess (1980); he was captivated by Freeman's piercing eyes. French Singer Jacques Dutronc and Giancarlo Giannini were also considered. Danny DeVito was approached to portray Sallah, described as a skinny, 5 ft (1.5 m) ta
caption: Tom Selleck was the primary choice to play Indiana Jones, and had even been fitted for the costume, but he was forced to withdraw due to his contractual obligations to the television show Magnum, P.I.
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