When Bob Hoskins told us about the creation of Roger Rabbit

“It was watching my three-year-old granddaughter play with imaginary friends that I actually found the trick.”

Who wants Roger Rabbit’s skin?the masterpiece of Robert Zemeckis, will return this Friday evening on Gulli. When it was released in 1988, the late Bob Hoskins confided in its manufacture in First. Because once accepted, this extraordinary half-live, half-animated project was very special to shoot for the Eddie Valiant interpreter.

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“Some actors dream of playing with Laurence Olivier, but for me, I was offered the opportunity to film with Bugs Bunny, Mickey and the whole gang!” The role of Eddie Valiant in the masterpiece of Robert Zemeckis Who wants Roger Rabbit’s skin?few actors coveted it. Bob Hoskinshe had to fight to obtain it, first of all from his agent, to whom he confided this childhood dream.

Full of curves, practicing a comedy close to burlesque, the British actor who left us in April 2014, was the perfect choice to share the spotlight with toons. Too perfect : “He stole the show in every shot, he acted so well that he looked more animated than our drawings, we really had to work hard to get our characters up to his standard.”confided to First (at the time of the film’s release on our screens in August 1988) the designer Richard Williams.

Robert Zemeckis shared his fascination with the spontaneity of the actor: “After the test bit, a scene where he’s supposed to argue with Roger Rabbit, I asked him: ‘How do you stare into space and stare at exactly where Roger Rabbit would be? It’s extraordinary !’ And he answered me: ‘Shut up ! If I start to think, to understand how I do it, I won’t be able to do it anymore.’“

A cube-shaped silhouette

So marked by the role that two months after the end of filming, he reported having hallucinations and seeing toons everywhere, Bob Hoskins shaped Eddie Valiant in his image: “When I knew I had the role, I thought I had two solutions: either I went to a specialized institute to become slimmer and more attractive, or I decided to do Eddie Valiant my double: a cube-shaped silhouette. Rereading the script, I no longer hesitated. Eddie is a failure, a drunkard. He sleeps fully clothed, he almost begins to go off the rails, and his look is really the last of his worries. That’s how I chose to play it”said the actor in the same issue of First.

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“It was while watching my three-year-old granddaughter playing with imaginary friends that I actually found the trick, he explained. But fortunately, from time to time, Charles Fleischer (who lends his voice to Roger Rabbit) came on set, off camera, to give me the cue. And to help me, he came dressed as a rabbit, which, quite seriously, was invaluable to me.”

If it’s Neil Jordan’s movie, Mona Lisawhich earned him an Acting Award at Cannes and an Oscar nomination in 1986, this role of a loser detective who fights against toons was no less an unforgettable performance – and it is above all for this one we will remember Bob Hoskins.

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The trailer for Who wants Roger Rabbit’s skin?broadcast this evening on Gulli:

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