Comments on the casting...
So many people commented on the casting of Swank. I find Bodnia’s comments interesting and a bit thought provoking. Initially, I thought the same thing about casting a big Hollywood actress… that it would overshadow or take away from the theme or purpose of the movie. Upon further thought, I have to say I disagree though. After all, that is the job of an actor, to get the audience to believe they are the character. I do not think that casting someone like Julia Roberts into the role would take away the “personal connection� for the same reason Bodnia suggested that it would… because the film deals with a sensitive topic. I think that the most important thing when casting the character of Brandon was that the audience was able to identify with him as a person. In the excerpts on Kimberly Pierce's creative process it is quoted that she (the director) “was looking for a human response,� and that the point of the story was “to include people in Brandon’s journey.� I think that this film would have had the same emotional connection to Brandon’s character no matter who played it, as long as they played the character with as much interest with portraying the actual person as Swank did.
I do agree with Bodnia’s comments that her physical features or stereotypical “masculine� features of facial structure and muscular body type had some influence on the directorial decision of Swank’s casting. I don’t know anything about casting or many of the details to the film process in general, but I wonder if the directorial decision was as much thought out as to thinking of casting an unknown actress such as Swank because Brandon Teena was kind of unknown as well… to herself and others and that they both (the character of Brandon and Swank as an actress) felt as if they had something to prove in “doing� the role.