The other musicians considered for David Bowie’s role in ‘Labyrinth’
David Bowie‘s role in Labyrinth was perhaps just as iconic as his music. As the Goblin King, he wrote himself into cinematic history in a role just as magical as the man himself seemed to be. However, he almost missed out on the part.
It’s impossible to imagine the 1986 film without David Bowie. Alongside Ziggy Stardust or the Thin White Duke, his spikey-haired Goblin King image is as recognisable and integral to the history of Bowie as any of his other iterations. The movie also gave us hits like ‘Magic Dance’ and ‘As The World Falls Down’ as the entire musical face of the film was crafted by Bowie.
But when it came to casting, the musician was one of many stars director Jim Henson considered. As the follow-up to The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth would be a huge step up in the creative world of Henson and designer Brian Froud. Bringing their puppets and elaborate sets to a bigger scale, the casting of real-life actors to interact with their imaginative creatures was a big task.
Taking major inspiration from The Wizard Of Oz, Labyrinth would always be a musical fantasy. But Henson wanted whoever was cast as Jareth, the Goblin King, to be involved in crafting the sound. They were looking for a star “who could change the film’s whole musical style”. The creators didn’t just need an actor who could somewhat sing; they needed a creative force to keep up with the director and designer themselves as a vital part of the project’s conception.
As the film is designed to be a child’s fantasy, Henson decided who better to ask for their opinions than his own kids. His son, Brian Henson, recalled, “I vaguely remember the name Sting coming up”. Another star he remembered being thrown into the mix was Michael Jackson, along with figures like Prince and Mick Jagger as well as Bowie, as the movie hunted for a charismatic frontman lead.
It was Brian Henson who fought in Bowie’s corner. “So when he asked me, I was leaning in favour of David Bowie,” he said. In contrast to the other options, like Sting’s more mellow approach or Jackson’s slickness, he always believed in Bowie’s more whimsical abilities. He explained, “I just felt like Bowie had a quirkiness and yet a real coolness that would work really well for my dad, whereas Michael had a perfection to his work that would have been tough.”
From the second Henson agreed with his son and set his mind on Bowie, everything fell into place perfectly. Just as the film’s team were looking for a star to help shape the movie’s music, Bowie had been looking for an opportunity to do just that. “I’d always wanted to be involved in the music-writing aspect of a movie that would appeal to children of all ages, as well as everyone else, and I must say that Jim gave me a completely free hand with it,” he said.
Listening back to the soundtrack, Bowie’s fingerprints are all over it. Even beyond the tracks he sings on, the instrumentals merge grand, cinematic sounds with a 1980s edge and coolness that comes directly from Bowie. Following the release of records like Let’s Dance and Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), Bowie seemed interested in merging his character work with wider sounds, making this soundtrack project an exciting new step that he threw himself into wholeheartedly.
On Henson’s side, Bowie is a case of absolutely perfect casting. Alongside Jennifer Connolly, who played Sarah, the young girl who enters this strange, fantasy world, the musician helped bridge the gap between mere mortals and the film’s weird puppet creations. Bowie has always felt part-man, part-myth, making him an easy fit in Henson’s creative world. “I wanted to put two characters of flesh and bone in the middle of all these artificial creatures, and David Bowie embodies a certain maturity, with his sexuality, his disturbing aspect, all sorts of things that characterise the adult world,” the director said.
It’s a funny thing to imagine that in some alternative timeline or had the director simply ignored his son’s thoughts, there might have existed a version of Labyrinth with Prince music or Sting dressed up as a Goblin. We, for one, are glad it was Bowie who booked it.
