How an apologetic letter found Paul Verhoeven a new favourite actor: “I’m sorry about that”
If you’re looking for a filmmaker with a taste for blood, violence, sex, and all things taboo, then you might just be searching for Paul Verhoeven. The demented Dutchman is responsible for some of the nastiest, most entertaining movies out there, from the gore-heavy world of RoboCop to the twisted erotica of Basic Instinct. Not everyone is a fan of his murderous modus operandi, but those who are practically worship him.
Across his long career, Verhoeven has worked with a number of big-name stars to mixed results. He was a frequent collaborator of the late, great Rutger Hauer, as they both came up together in their native Netherlands. On the other hand, he basically ruined Elizabeth Berkley’s career with his infamous flop, Showgirls. However, for one of his most unique relationships with a performer, we have to look at the 1990 sci-fi action classic, Total Recall.
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Douglas Quaid, a seemingly normal construction worker who unlocks his mysterious past with the help of a special machine, this movie is one of the biggest Verhoeven ever made. Alongside Arnie, the film also stars Sharon Stone as Quaid’s scheming wife, Ronny Cox as a corrupt politician, and Michael Ironside as Richter, the politician’s hatchet man and the film’s secondary antagonist.
This was the first time Ironside worked with Verhoeven, but not the first time they met. As the actor explained to the BFI as part of a 30-year retrospective on Total Recall, he had actually made it to the final round of auditions for the title character in RoboCop. When that role was given to Peter Weller on account of his slimmer build, Ironside was offered the role of villain Clarence Boddicker instead. However, due to recent experiences, he had said no.
“I was actually just shooting the death scene of my character in Extreme Prejudice, Walter Hill’s film, and I’d literally been shooting all day covered in blood in this fountain,” Ironside relayed. “I cleaned up and jumped over to another studio to go meet Paul. And I told him, ‘I can’t play another violent, slaughtering character. I can’t’. And he said, ‘Well, I’m sorry about that’.”
Almost immediately after turning down the role of Boddicker, Ironside realised he’d made a mistake. He admitted that he was too deep in his current role—a treacherous US soldier who attempts to lead his troops to their death—and that he had failed to see the potential of Verhoeven’s vision.
“If I had to do it over again, I would absolutely work with Paul,” he confessed, adding, “I actually sent him a letter after RoboCop where I was saying, ‘I apologise, I should be on this film with you. I should never make decisions when I’m in another character’.”
This tactic, though highly unconventional, turned out to be highly effective. Verhoeven clearly admired Ironside’s ability to admit when he was wrong, as he cast him as Richter just three years after RoboCop hit cinemas. Then, seven years after that, the two worked together again on Starship Troopers; Ironside played Jean Rasczak, leader of the ‘Roughnecks’ special forces unit. The moral of the story? Sometimes it pays to apologise.
