Magill's Survey of Cinema
06-15-1995
Many actors were considered for the part of Joel Garcia, but Eric Stoltz won it when he arrived at a Los Angeles restaurant in a wheelchair for a meeting with Jimenez and Steinberg. Stoltz reportedly remained in the wheelchair throughout the eight-week production schedule. He was so adept at portraying Jimenez that both directors expressed surprise when they saw Stoltz out of the chair for the first time during postproduction. This was not the first time that Stoltz had portrayed a character whose spirit was challenged by his own body. He won a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of a teenager suffering from a disfiguring disease in MASK (1985). Among his other films are FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (1982), SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL (1987), and MEMPHIS BELLE (1990).