In 2007, Javier Bardem delivered one of the most chilling performances of the century as Anton Chigurh in “No Country for Old Men.” Nearly twenty years later, he has once again demonstrated his ability to convincingly portray a sociopath, taking on the role of the vengeful murderer Max Cady in the summer hit series “Cape Fear” on Apple TV+.
Cady, previously portrayed by Robert Mitchum in 1962 and Robert De Niro in 1991, is brought to life by Bardem with a performance characterized by prolonged periods of perceived stillness, intensifying the suspense of the cat-and-mouse game with the Bowden family. Lily Collias, one of the stars, described the experience as “a lot of fun” yet “sometimes very jarring.”
“We’re playing cat and mouse, and then the cameras turn off, and I still feel like a mouse,” Collias shared with Variety during the “Cape Fear” finale screening in New York. “And he still feels like Tom from ‘Tom and Jerry.’”
Collias portrays Natalie Bowden, the daughter of Anna (Amy Adams) and Tom (Patrick Wilson), two lawyers whom Bardem’s Cady blames for his imprisonment. The series finale, following ten episodes of buildup, showcases an intense confrontation as Cady breaks into the Bowden home, subjecting Anna and Tom to a “trial” for allegedly conspiring against him and threatening their children.
“Episode 10 felt almost like a play,” Collias remarked. “It was just the family and him in the house, and we were doing the most insane things and laughing so hard off camera. It felt like such a joy that it was actually a beautiful time.”
Before filming a violent scene where Cady grabs Natalie by the hair, Collias mentioned that Bardem courteously apologized beforehand, ensuring she was comfortable with the physical aspect.
“We would go through such weird circumstances; it’s little things that make me still giggle to this day,” Collias noted. “In Episode 10, there’s a point where he has to grab me by my hair, and before the scene, he’s like, ‘I’m so sorry, my love. Is it OK if I just — I’m going to grab you like that?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s fine.’ Then we start rolling, and I see this thing coming up to me, and I’m like, ‘What the fuck?! Well, OK, that’s your job!’”
Asked about filming the intense finale scenes, Bardem smirked and explained how he has learned to embrace the “play” involved in acting as he has aged.
“For me, it’s more about a game,” Bardem said. “You use your imagination to jump in and step out of it. I respect everybody’s process, as long as those processes respect other people’s processes. For me, the fun part is to really be part of a group of people that imagine things that don’t exist, and they create it together based on the fact that it’s all a big lie.”
