If you’re following the page today, you know that The Shattered Lens is celebrating the 78th birthday of legendary Director John Carpenter. Did you know that there was a time when the studio “suits” wanted Charles Bronson to play the role of Snake Plissken in Carpenter’s classic, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK? A big star when the original idea of the film began kicking around, studio executives felt that an experienced, gritty actor like Bronson might be perfect for the role, especially since he was already a solid box office champ.

Carpenter, however, wanted a younger guy to play Plissken and may have even been a little intimidated to work with the veteran action star…

“Charles Bronson had expressed interest in playing Snake, but I was afraid of working with him. He was a big star, and I was this little-shit nobody.”

It all worked out well in the long run as Carpenter was eventually able to cast his first choice for the role, Kurt Russell, who was at an important stage in his own career as he was still in the process of reinventing his on-screen image from his days as a former child star and Disney star. John Carpenter had worked with Russell a couple of years earlier in the TV movie, ELVIS (1979), so he had confidence in the young actor. Russell turned out to be an incredible choice for the film and key to making it the classic it is today.

Still, for a Bronson fan like me, it’s quite interesting to know that there’s a multiverse out there that could have seen Bronson in the iconic role!