Why Bruce Greenwood filmed all of his scenes from House of Usher as reshoots

The Jessie actor replaced Frank Langella at short notice in the role of patriarch Roderick Usher. And he does brilliantly.

In October 2021, while Mike Flanagan presented to the public his Midnight Sermonsthe director announced his wish to adapt The Fall of the House of Usher, a gothic classic by Edgar Allan Poe about a brother and sister who fall victim to a strange illness. Published in 1839, this very dark family story has been adapted several times for the cinema (in 1928 by Jean Espein, in 1960 by Roger Corman and in 1982 by Jess Franco), but for its 8-episode series, the creator of The Haunting of Hill Housee managed to offer a modern reading, a free adaptation also citing other cult works of the author, of Black cat At Crow Passing by The Golden Beetle Or Double assassination in the Rue Morgue.

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At the end of 2021, Flanagan announced that he had completed his casting, hiring his loyal actors Kate Siegel, Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, Samantha Sloyan, T’Nia Miller or Rahul Kohli, Carl Lumbly, but also newbieslike Mary McDonnell (Independence Day), Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and Frank Langella (Captain Fantastic). Except that the following spring, he was fired from the series in the middle of filming, accused of having “unacceptable conduct on the tray”.

The show’s creator has never said more about the incident that led him to part ways with Langella in the middle of production, and neither has Netflix. Once the 84-year-old actor left, he had to be replaced very quickly at short notice, and it was an actor he knows well who succeeded him: Bruce Greenwood.

Already in Jessie And Doctor Sleep (as well as a ghost hidden in Hill House, the director joked when he arrived on the project), the 67-year-old actor therefore inherited the role of patriarch Roderick Usher in the middle of filming. Which was already well advanced: all of its sequences are reshoots, which represents multiple takes to redo, given that it is the main character of the series.

In addition to narrating his misadventures to the lawyer played by Carl Lumbly – which could be done in part without another actor, since the majority of their exchanges are in shot/reverse shot – Roderick regularly gives voice to his children , to his sister Madeline or to his henchman Arthur Pym.

A big job for Greenwood, who does wonderfully, showing himself by turns detestable, funny or even endearing. A role that is far from easy, as the public’s interest in this story rests largely on its story, and therefore on the credibility of its interpreter.

By being younger than the actor initially chosen, it also limits the comparison with another series telling the family and inheritance problems of a rich businessman: Succession. The Fall of the House of Usher resembles this HBO success on several points, but ultimately not enough regarding the acting of Bruce Greenwood, who manages to differentiate himself enough from Logan Roy, the key character played by Brian Cox, for us to think about it a little , without ever spoiling the pleasure taken from this new series.

The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix: Succession at Edgar Allan Poe (review)

One detail, however, recalls this change in casting: depending on the era, his character does not have exactly the same eye color. Bruce Greenwood has them piercing blue, unlike his younger versions Zach Gilford and Lincoln Russo. The first, already in Midnight sermons, has light brown eyes, and the young boy’s eyes are darker. Which creates strange false connections at the start of the series, when the protagonist begins to talk about his childhood. Is this discrepancy intended? Mike Flanagan is a huge fan of Stephen King, and for his adaptation of ShiningStanley Kubrick multiplied false connections of all kinds, sometimes deliberately confusing the public with impossible details (notably in the composition of his hotel, the plan of which cannot be drawn). A way of creating discomfort for the most attentive spectators.

Here is the trailer for The Fall of the House of Usherwhich just arrived on Netflix:

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