Why Javier Bardem’s haircut in ‘No Country for Old Men’ convinced him to take the lead role
The western genre reached its peak between the 1930s and 1960s, with films such as High Noon, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and Rio Bravo just some examples of the period’s most popular movies. Despite the past few decades of cinema favouring sci-fi, action, and comedy, there have still been some hugely successful modern westerns released over the past 25 years including 3:10 to Yuma, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and The Hateful Eight.
However, one cannot forget the Coen brother’s contributions to the genre. Despite working within a variety of genres, from crime to comedy, the duo have also made several westerns, including The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and True Grit, but their most well-loved remains No Country For Old Men. The film follows Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a hunter who finds $2million left behind after a horrific drug deal. Taking the money for himself, he is pursued by a psychopathic killer named Anton Chigurh, played magnificently by Javier Bardem.
Based on the 2005 novel of the same name written by American writer Cormac McCarthy, the film was a box office hit and even won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Adapted Screenplay. Javier Bardem also won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his standout performance as Chigurh, as well as a BAFTA and Golden Globe.
Bardem’s character is, quite frankly, terrifying. He shows no remorse for his actions and is just absolutely merciless, attempting to kill every person he meets, and almost completely succeeding. His go-to weapon is a captive bolt-stunner, which is used to stun animals before slaughter, as well as a Remington 11-87 and a TEC-9. The character frequently flips coins to decide the fate of his victims – a simple yet haunting move that he rarely loses.
Cormac McCarthy’s work frequently involves characters that represent an ‘Unstoppable Evil’ which Chigurh unmistakably represents. However, the Coen brothers wanted to avoid a sense of one-dimensionality within their portrayal of the psychopath, which is why they approached Javier Bardem, inspired by the idea to have an actor play the role that looked like they “could have come from Mars”.
Bardem was initially unsure about the role, stating: “I don’t drive, I speak bad English and I hate violence,” to which the Coens replied: “That’s why we called you.” He explained that it was a dream to be in a Coen brothers film so he accepted the role. Still unsure of his suitability for the part, Bardem knew it was the right fit when he found out that he would have to sport a questionable haircut. In an interview with Vanity Fair he said:
Remembering his thought process, Bardem once explained: “I went to New Mexico and I sat down in a makeup trailer, and they came with a photograph of a brothel in the border with Mexico in the ’50s or in the ’60s with a guy photographed with this haircut and two prostitutes. And I thought, ‘What does this mean?’ And they said, ‘Well, we want you to look like that’. I said, ‘OK’. And then the hairdresser, Paul, who passed away recently, amazing hairdresser, in a second, with my own hair, he made [imitates snipping], and I saw it and I said, ‘Yes, I have to make this movie’. I mean, this is such a Coen brothers look. And, because it was funny, it was ridiculous, it was fun. And then that in comparison with what the character is, would make a very good Coen brothers character to play.”
The photo was from a book that Tommy Lee Jones (Sheriff Ed Tom Bell) had on set, which the Coen brothers had flipped through. After Paul LeBlanc was instructed to make a hairstyle that appeared “strange and unsettling”, the stylist was further inspired by the styles sported by English warriors during the Crusades and 1960s mod cuts. Bardem thought the hairstyle was perfect for his role, stating that it helped him embody the character better – clearly, it worked, as his performance as Chigurh was named the Most Realistic Depiction of a Psychopath by the Journal of Forensic Sciences.
