How Harry Dean Stanton lucked out with the final role of a lifetime

Harry Dean Stanton always knew how to steal a scene. It didn't take much. With something as simple as a one-liner, a glance or, even better, a moment of silence, Stanton always made his presence known. It was that uncanny ability to turn a supporting role into the lead that made him one of the greatest character actors of his generation.

Stanton died on Sept. 15, at 91, ending a career that spanned some six decades and more than 200 roles, big and small. But he only ever officially played the lead twice. The first was in the 1984 cult classic Paris, Texas, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. The second — also his last — is the title role of Lucky, released today, a role his entire career has literally led to. Every major scene, reference and piece of dialogue in the film has been taken from Stanton's life and career, recontextualized to tell the story of a man on the brink of death who's tasked with an emotional and philosophical journey to come to terms with his fate.

Stanton acted in supporting roles alongside Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson; he was directed by Martin Scorsese, David Lynch and Francis Ford Coppola, but he was never nominated for an Academy Award. In fact, the first major award he received was in 2016, and like his latest role, it was created specifically for him — the Harry Dean Stanton Award. In Lucky, Stanton turns in the performance of a lifetime, with many already predicting it could land him his first Oscar nomination.

"He had, over the last couple years, turned down roles — leading roles — because he thought they were too much work," says Lucky director John Carroll Lynch. "He was, for all intents and purposes, retired. He'd do things for friends if they weren't too much trouble. But this was way too much trouble, and yet he did it anyway."

The screenplay was written by Stanton's old friends Drago Sumonja and Logan Sparks, both actors, the latter also Stanton's assistant for many years, with the full intention that it was to be a final toast to Stanton. Not only that, but it was a chance for Stanton to just play himself (which is what he claims he always did anyway) and make a final statement.

"He loved Logan and the people that were going to be involved, but he obviously had something he wanted to say in it," says Lynch of the film that also stars more of Stanton's old friends, including David Lynch, Dabney Coleman and Ed Begley Jr. "I don't think you're an actor who puts yourself through 18 days of that without something meaningful to say, so he gets to say it in the movie and he says it quite well."

Lucky marks not only Stanton's final role, but also happens to be the very first screenplay from Sumonja and Sparks, as well as the directorial debut for Lynch. In a way, it was also a first for Stanton, who always insisted on bringing honesty and realness to his acting, but never quite like this.

"I've never seen anything like this, where the material is from the actor's life but is not in the context of his life," says Lynch, adding that sometimes the material was a little too close even for Stanton.

"It was raw," he says. "He didn't want to do some of this material, he struggled against it because I think it was too personal and he felt it on his skin. It was revealing in the same way as he reveals his body in the movie, which he had no compunctions about. But revealing his soul — although he wouldn't say soul because he didn't believe in it — that was harder, and understandably so."

Stanton also brought as much physically to the role as you could expect from a man of his age, whether it was walking three miles in 90-degree heat in the small town of Piru, Calif., stripping down to his underwear for his character's daily yoga routine, or, as Stanton was prone to do in real life, breaking out in song — something his ardent fans know well about him.

"What he gave to his movie in commitment was full on," says Lynch. "You can't ask for much more than that."

While Stanton never saw the final cut — he was waiting to see it on the big screen, as it was intended — it's a fitting tribute to the man who made a career of showing strength in silence.

"After working on this, I learned to aspire to a sense of being on film that he does, both as an actor and as a person, which is to master silence," says Lynch. "He just was able to live in silence, which comes from a place of being content with the present moment, without any need for distraction. Seems like good advice."

Lucky opens at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Oct. 6 with additional dates across the country through October and November. Check luckythefilm.com for dates.