The actor Harry Dean Stanton compared to Bob Dylan
Few actors have been able to toe the line between cult hero and mainstream success more successfully than Harry Dean Stanton. The Kentucky-born actor witnessed a very successful career that spanned over six decades, landing him roles in box office hits like Pretty in Pink and The Godfather Part II, as well as cult films such as Paris, Texas or Repo Man.
Stanton’s career was always influenced by music. In the 2011 documentary Crossing Mulholland, he revealed, “I had to decide if I wanted to be a singer or an actor. I was always singing. I thought if I could be an actor, I could do all of it”. The actor can be seen putting that talent to use on-screen in various roles, including the little-known David Lynch short The Cowboy and the Frenchman, in which he covers ‘Home on the Range’. Stanton even released an album of covers, Partly Fiction, in 2014, showcasing his musical aptitude.
Perhaps the highlight of Stanton’s musical experience came in 1973 when he worked with none other than Bob Dylan on Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. With Stanton and Dylan gifting to the world some of the greatest moments in film and music, respectively, this collaboration was sure to excite audiences.
The actor fondly remembers working with the legendary songwriter, “Bob’s an unusual guy,” he told Uncut in 2016, “We went jogging during the shoot, about half a mile from where Sam Peckinpah was shooting, and we ran into his shot. Sam might have thrown something at us after that”.
During the course of shooting, the pair also collaborated musically, “Dylan and I recorded a Mexican song,” the actor continues, “We made a tape together. He asked me, did I want a copy. I said no. What an idiot”. Dylan clearly made an impact on Stanton, which is unsurprising given the actor’s love of music and the substantial place Dylan holds in musical history. Still, fans of the pair can only imagine the conversations that occurred between the two during their time shooting together.
Over the course of his long career, Stanton also became close with a variety of big names in cinema. Once a roommate of Jack Nicholson, he was even best man at Nicholson’s wedding to Sandra Knight in 1962. There was one name, though, that stood out among the rest for Stanton. Working on Missouri Breaks in 1976, Stanton was able to collaborate with old friend Jack Nicholson, as well as the actor he considers “the greatest of all time”, Marlon Brando.
Famously, working with Brando could be a difficult task; he was reported to have been so underprepared for his role in Apocalypse Now that his scenes had to be filmed in heavy shadows. However, Stanton remembers his time with Brando fondly, “He was an amazing man, a great sense of humour, tremendous depth, unpredictable”. The Inland Empire actor even went as far as to compare Brando to Bob Dylan, stating: “Marlon’s reminiscent of Dylan. Both very eccentric, complex characters” – high praise indeed.
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