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Even though he has starred in multiple critically acclaimed roles over the years, Vincent D’Onofrio’s one performance that still reigns supreme among most fans (if notall) is that of Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin in the Marvel Universe. If anything, his being brought on board for the respective role was one casting decision that faced pretty much zero disapproval from the Marvel fandom.
In fact, in what turned out to be a memorable turn of events, even the one who first suggested him for the role didn’t need to think twice when he thought of D’Onofrio as Fisk. But as perfect as this fantasy casting was, it almost fell through before even progressing past the imaginary casting stage, all because of the actor’s stint in the iconic drama seriesLaw & Order: Criminal Intent.
Vincent D’Onofrio Almost Lost Out on Kingpin Due toCriminal Intent
As perfect and widely acclaimed as Netflix’sDaredevilseries was, what went into its making was equally tough. To say the least, the most worrisome part of it all was getting the casting right, and this stood especially true when it came to Wilson Fisk since he was the ultimate big bad of the saga. But that’s not to say thatVincent D’Onofriowasn’t already imagined as the perfect fit.
While the casting task was tough enough to haveSteven S. DeKnight– the showrunner for season 1 – leading sleepless nights, it wasn’t so because he hadn’t found the perfect actor. Rather, the real reason why this turned out to be so tumultuous for Knight was that he suggested D’Onofrio for the role, and his idea was rejected as it was believed the actor would be too expensive.
“One thing in particular that my character does”: Vincent D’Onofrio Teases a Kingpin Scene He Still Can’t Believe Kevin Feige Allowed to be in Daredevil: Born Again
Talking toHorror Fuelabout it all, DeKnight came candidly clean about this very journey of the casting of the supervillain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, saying,
We wanted to verify the casting was right. I had sleepless nights over trying to cast Wilson Fisk, Kingpin, and my feeling was, there was only one person that could do it, and that was Vincent D’Onfrio.
Being so sure about it, he recalled pitching the idea to EPJeph Loeb, sharing:
I sent him a picture of Vincent with a shaved head on the internet, and I said, ‘Come on. There’s nobody else that can do this. This is Kingpin.’ And Jeph said, ‘Yeah, yeah, we love him, but he’s way too expensive. He was on Law & Order, he makes like a million dollars an episode. We’ll never get him.’
Apparently, at the time, back then, D’Onofrio was still riding high the tides of success and fame thatLaw & Order: Criminal Intentbrought him afterall the hard work he didfor the same. Plus, as showrunner DeKnight quotes executive producer Loeb as saying, his salary was considerably high for this stint as well, being one of the primary protagonists leading the saga.
All of that was enough to pop the showrunner’s bubble ofbringing D’Onofrio on boardas the primary villain crime lord of the Netflix series, even without asking him about it. But, fortunately for them, before this fantasy casting could further fall through and continue to leave DeKnight leading sleepless nights over thinking of a better Fisk, the casting director jumped to the rescue.
How Vincent D’Onofrio Eventually Scored the Role of Wilson Fisk
On the one hand, while the executive producer directly downplayed DeKnight’s enthusiasm for casting Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin by bringing up potential money issues, it was the casting director Laray Mayfield who brought back the showrunner’s hope of finally getting the casting of Fisk right. This was all because she was personal friends with the actor.
Continuing to talk to Horror Fuel about it, DeKnight shared how Mayfield jumped to the rescue with this particular casting by offering to personally ask D’Onofrio about the role. He said, “It turns out, a couple of months later, our casting director, Laray Mayfield, was personal friends with him. And she said, ‘Well, let me just check and see if there’s any interest.’”
Surprisingly enough, it turned out that the actor DeKnight was such a big fan of casting as Fisk was himself a massive geek ofDaredevil‘s universe. “It turns out Vincent was a huge Daredevil fan, a huge comic book fan of Daredevil, and he said, ‘Yeah, I’d love to do it. Look, we’ll work something out on the price.’” Needless to say, this made things all the easier for DeKnight.
MCU Theory Claims Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin Took a Black Market Super Soldier Serum
Just like that, Steven DeKnight’sheartfelt wisheswere fulfilled, and Vincent D’Onofrio was cast as the fan-favorite crime lord to give one of the best performances of his lifetime – so much so, that he will be celebrating nearly a decade of playing Kingpin with the release ofDaredevil: Born Againnext year, and is still regarded as the best actors for the character to date.
Daredevil can currently be streamed on Netflix and Disney+, while Law & Order: Criminal Intent can be streamed on Peacock.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
