Raiders of the Lost Ark has gone down in history as a classic, but one actor turned it down and furiously insulted the script. The first Indiana Jones movie is a relentlessly entertaining adventure, with a potent blend of humor, romance and action. It’s one of Steven Spielberg’s best movies, and a perfect example of the kind of crowdpleasing magic that he’s so frequently able to conjure. Harrison Ford’s charming performance as Indy is at the heart of the action, but he’s surrounded by a great cast, with even the minor actors adding something to the world of the movie.
Raiders of the Lost Ark set the Indiana Jones franchise up for success from the very beginning. The character and the spirit of the movies are both so clearly defined from the beginning that it’s easy to see why audiences wanted to see more. More than this, Raiders of the Lost Ark has cast a long shadow over a certain subgenre. Although it was originally inspired by pulp adventure serials, it has now become the gold standard for action-adventure stories about explorers, and all new movies in the same vein now have to stack up against Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Klaus Kinski Turned Indiana Jones Down & Insulted The Script
The German Actor Would Have Played The Nazi Villain Arnold Toht
Although many actors would have jumped at the chance to work with Steven Spielberg, Klaus Kinski turned the director down in no uncertain terms. In his memoir, Kinski revealed his candid feelings about Raiders of the Lost Ark, and he didn’t mince his words when discussing the script. He wrote that it was “a yawn-making, boring pile of shi*” and “moronically shi**y“. This sounds like a major revelation, but Kinski wrote that he told Spielberg all about his thoughts. Although Raiders of the Lost Ark was a colossal hit, Kinski shows no remorse in turning it down.
Kinski appeared in a wide variety of genres throughout his career, and he acted in several languages. These days, most people will recognize him for his work alongside director Werner Herzog, with films such as Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo gaining international audiences. However, Kinski and Herzog endured a famously fiery relationship, with the director threatening to kill the actor on several occasions. Herzog’s 1999 documentary My Best Friend details this tumultuous dynamic. It was made eight years after Kinski’s death.
Kinski was an extremely controversial figure, and certain details which have come out in the years since his death paint an even more upsetting portrait. Spielberg may consider himself lucky that he was turned down by the German actor, and not just because of his infamous on-set antics. In the long run, Kinski’s presence would have given Raiders of the Lost Ark a slightly different legacy. After rejecting Spielberg, Kinski decided to appear in Piers Haggard’s horror movie Venom instead, which ended up being a critical and commercial failure.
It’s Hard To Imagine Anyone But Ronald Lacey Playing Arnold Toht In Indiana Jones
The British Actor Provides A Chilling Presence
Kinski would have been a bigger name, but Ronald Lacey’s performance in Raiders of the Lost Ark is perfectly measured. He provides a constantly unsettling presence as Arnold Toht, often staring blankly ahead with his lips pressed together in a slimy grimace. He gives Toht a reptilian quality that suits the character’s status as a high-ranking Gestapo agent. Toht seems to enjoy the grisly, violent parts of his work. While René Belloq is driven by greed and Colonel Dietrick wants to advance the Nazi agenda, Toht may well have gotten to where he is by being the most sadistic and unrelenting man in the Gestapo.
Kinski would have been a bigger name, but Ronald Lacey’s performance in Raiders of the Lost Ark is perfectly measured.
Nazis in movies are often portrayed as cold-blooded bureaucrats without any emotions or the ability to question their commands. Otherwise, they are violent, spitting fountains of rage. Toht is neither. Instead, he’s a soulless force of pure evil who embodies the hateful philosophy of Nazism with every fiber of his being. Lacey clearly understands that Raiders of the Lost Ark revolves around a moral struggle between good and evil, and he wipes away any semblance of nuance from his character while still making him feel recognizable.
