Unforgettable, great performance by Haley Joel Osment in his movie "Bogus" (1996, filmed in 1995 in Las Vegas, Jersey City, Newark & Toronto) with Gérard Depardieu & Whoopi Goldberg.
"I actually had two child actors to direct," says the director of "Bogus" Norman Jewison in 1995 kiddingly, "one was a little American boy named Haley and the other was a big Frenchman named Gerard."
"This film is Albert's story," explains Jewison. "Without the right child actor in that pivotal role, the outcome would have been disastrous."
The filmmakers auditioned kids in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Minneapolis and Chicago. After screening hundreds of hopefuls, they chose Haley Joel Osment, who also appeared in the television series "Thunder Alley" with Edward Asner, as Forrest Gump's son in "Forrest Gump" and he is one of the stars in the television series "The Jeff Foxworthy Show."
Jewison says, "When you're casting a child this young, it becomes very difficult because most six year-olds don't have an extensive body of work to examine. We finally got to a point where we had to make a leap of faith, take a chance and hope that we had found the right one."
"I honestly don't think we could have found anyone more imaginative than Haley," says Jewison, "or more sensitive to the demands of the role. And that face . . . a great little face to photograph . . . so wistful, so lovable."
In the time of shooting of "Bogus" in & near Toronto (Canada) Haley Joel Osment said:
"I had a lot of fun and everybody was really nice to me," "Whoopi always made me laugh, and Gerard taught me some French words. My best friend was my stand-in, Ryan Henry."
"I turned seven years old when we were shooting in New Jersey, and they had a big birthday cake for me," he remembers. "The most fun about making the movie was getting to learn all the magic tricks, and when I got to swordfight with Gerard."
Director Jewison smiles when he recalls that swordfight sequence, which was filmed over several days in Toronto's High Park.
"It was remarkable," says Jewison. "It reminded me of recess on a playground. Seeing Gerard Depardieu, France's national treasure, cinema's Cyrano de Bergerac, a man with 96 feature films to his credit, swordfighting, running around and playing 'Falling the Best' and 'Cowboys and Indians' with Haley. It was priceless to see him completely and naturally become this seven year-old's playmate and confidant."
"And contagious, too," says Jewison. "The more I blocked and rehearsed that sequence, the more I found myself rolling around the ground with the two of them."
Jewison notes that the role of Bogus, whom the script describes as "big, stupendous, colossal, amazing, fantastic, magnificent, unbelievable", was written specifically for Depardieu. "Gerard is all those things and more," says Jewison. "We developed the project with him in mind. His sensitivity, his power, his warmth, his wonder and his imagination were all key to the essence of the character."
And how did the big "kid" get along with the little "kid"?
"Ah, he's the little prince, the little genius, il est formidable, il est brilliant," says Depardieu, in his now-improved yet still slightly broken English. "I learned many things from Haley . . . fresh things like naivete, courage, simplicity, honesty. He just does it, he listens, he feels."
For Depardieu, it was "a big honor" having the role of Bogus tailor-made for him, a part he says he "believed in."
"I was very proud to be part of this with Norman and Alvin and Whoopi," he says. "I believe in magic, in fantasy. I believe you should never forget to be a child. Yes, sure you must grow up and be responsible, but it is sad when you leave your childhood. As the script says -- 'imagination is a nice place to visit, not so good to live there.' Bogus let me be a child, let me go visit back there. C'etait extraordinaire."
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HALEY JOEL OSMENT - ...what an astonishing!by GoldenAUroranias2,822 views
awww wasnt he just the the most adorable thing ever?
superstar3801 1 year ago 4
Oh, that's great) Thanks for the video and for the information too) Haley is so touching, but serious, as he is a big actor actually...)) He's great and super-talented young actor, I remember me in 7 years...ha ha... I've played a little role in the music clip, and there I must be with a little chickens...ha ha, I was so afraid of them and shy... But Haley in his 7 years was so serious, organic and confident. The real actor!!)
IslandofInspiration 10 months ago