Two decades after its theatrical release,Bobby Cannavalerevisits the path that led to creating the critically acclaimed filmThe Station Agent. During a recent interview withVanity Fair, Cannavale reveals that the creation ofThe Station Agentlingered for four years, primarily due toPeter Dinklage’s casting.
Written and directed by Tom McCarthy (in his feature directorial debut),The Station Agentcenters on Dinklage’s Finbar McBride, a man with dwarfism who inherits an abandoned train station in a small New Jersey town. There, he meets Joe Oramas (Cannavale), a hot dog vendor, and Olivia Harris (Patricia Clarkson), an artist, and the three develop a close friendship.At the time, Dinklage wasn’t an “A-list-type” actor, so studios were looking to recast him; according to Cannavale, studios also wanted to do away with one of the film’s central points: Fin’s dwarfism.
“I remember everything about that movie, because it took forever to get made,” Cannavale said. “It took us four years of doing readings for different people, for small independent companies. Getting rejection letter after rejection letter because people wanted to recast Pete [Dinklage]. I can’t tell you how many studios were willing to take the movie on, so long as you can just recast Pete with other A-list-type actors who could play the role. And just ‘forget that he’s a dwarf,’ when really one of the f*cking points of the movie was that he was this outcast.”
In 2003,The Station Agentfinally premiered at theSundance Film Festivalbefore making its way to other festivals and theaters. It earned critical praise — it currently boasts an impressive 94% on Rotten Tomatoes — and racked up accolades, including the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay for McCarthy and the John Cassavetes Award. It also propelled Dinklage into stardom:
“I remember Pete and I taking the bus from the little house that the producer rented for us into Park City, and nobody knowing who we were. Us stepping off the bus, and the first person we saw was Pauly Shore passing out flyers for his movie. And everything changing 12 hours later when the movie premiered at Eccles. Pete could not walk around. It was an incredible experience. Then the bidding for it, and Harvey [Weinstein] buying it for Miramax. The attention that the movie got when it came out, the critics loving the movie, it winning all those awards at Sundance — I’ll never forget it,” Cannavale recalls.
Peter Dinklage and Bobby Cannavale’s Post-Station Agent Success
Before starring inThe Station Agent, Cannavale was best known for his role as Bobby Caffey in the NBC seriesThird Watchfrom 1999 to 2001. He had also had minor roles in films likeThe Bone Collectorand3 A.M., butThe Station Agentmarked a notable change for the now Emmy Award-winning actor:
“It also f*cked me up because that was the first movie I’d ever really had a good part in, and so I just thought, ‘Well, this is how it’s going to be every time!’ I’ve never had another experience like that.”
FollowingThe Station Agent’s success, Cannavale earned Emmy Awards forWill & Grace(Outstanding Guest Actor) andBoardwalk Empire(Outstanding Supporting Actor).He’s excelled in drama and comedy, with notable projects includingPaul Blart: Mall Cop, Blue Jasmine, The Irishman, The Watcher, andNine Perfect Strangers.
Dinklage is best known for portraying Tyrion Lannister inGame of Thrones. His performance garnered critical acclaim and several accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Award wins for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Just like Cannavale,Dinklage has shown his versatility in a range of genres, with memorable roles in films likeElf, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Penelope,the newly releasedBrothers,andThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Currently, Dinklage appears inWicked, where he voices Doctor Dillamond.
The Station Agent, starring Dinklage, Cannavale, Clarkson, Michelle Williams, and John Slattery, is available to stream on Prime Video.
