Woody Allen has cemented an historic onscreen legacy by managing to play a grand total of one single character for the last 47 years. (What versatility!) Needless to say, it’s been one hell of a character: Allen’s extreme version of himself, trading on some of the most base cultural stereotypes out there about New Yorkers, Jews and intellectuals, has, logically or not, repeatedly held mainstream America’s interest. Yet, in a halfhearted nod to the idea of variety, Allen hasn’t always played the character himself – due to the constraints of age, style, and physical type, he’s occasionally enlisted actors to come in and do their best Woody Allen imitation over the years. With a new addition to the coterie coming in To Rome With Love – Jesse Eisenberg is a neo-Woody if ever there was one – it’s worthwhile to take a look back at Allen’s nine most entertaining surrogates.
Kenneth Branagh, Celebrity
Could the staid, withdrawn nature of British mores and culture – or those of the Irish, for that matter – be any further from the traits needed to play the Woody character effectively? It seems like a counterintuitive choice, but going with Branagh for the Woody surrogate in Celebrity (one of Allen’s more underappreciated films) was a smart choice; Branagh’s natural composure collides in an interesting way with the foregone conclusion of the character’s neuroses and tics. The result is a performance where Branagh is restrained on the surface while seemingly jittery and anxious underneath – a more subtle and surprisingly effective way of making Allen’s comedy work.
Jason Biggs, Anything Else
One of Allen’s most maligned pictures, it’s this writer’s contention that Anything Else has received an undeservedly bad rap. Sure, the chemistry between Biggs and Christina Ricci is closer to producing liquid nitrogen than hot sparks, but there’s plenty of great one-liners, and Allen himself steals the show. Biggs, one of the least skilled actors to portray a Woody alter ego, is nevertheless entertaining in a performance that paints the character in even broader, more direct strokes than Woody’s on-the-nose performances normally do. It’s as far from subtle as can be, but the broadness and directness of Biggs’ choices sometimes serves to let the delivery of Allen’s bon mots swing for the fences.
Larry David, Whatever Works
Could there be a more appropriate Allen surrogate under the sun than uber-neurotic Larry David? The cultural connection between the two couldn’t be more apparent; Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm could never have been seen as potentially viable in mainstream America without Allen’s career success. Giving his performance far more vitriol than what Allen is capable of, David revels in the misanthropy that is present, but often more subtly disguised, in Allen’s films.
John Cusack, Bullets Over Broadway
This is what happens when a talented, popular actor really uses their likability to channel the Woody character well. As famous as Allen is, his character’s narcissism (as well as his personal transgressions later in life) can make him difficult for audiences to root for at times. Cusack blended the typical Woody persona with his own undeniable charm to create a character who, when in a tough spot, you can’t help but empathize with. That would be good if this was a simple relationship film, but when Cusack’s character is getting into danger by dealing with gangsters, it’s more than good – it’s great.
Will Ferrell, Melinda and Melinda
Allen’s comedic appeal obviously lies in his perfected delivery of zingers, but he has made some excursions into physical comedy – notably in Sleeper. That element of physical comedy returned in Melinda and Melinda, with Will Ferrell adding a slapstick element back in with the traditional Allen material. There were plenty of issues with Melinda and Melinda – the dramatic half of the film simply drags with unearned melodrama – but the comedic half, with Ferrell powering it, works far better.
Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Playing the Woody surrogate can be interesting when the role is written for a woman, because the character’s anxieties take on an entirely different significance: the neuroses can be turned into a sign of strength, rather than cowardice. Rebecca Hall’s character in Vicky Cristina Barcelona is quite strong – certainly stronger than any of Allen’s male stand-ins – while being absolutely plagued with the neuroses and concerns that come with the territory. Scarlett Johansson’s performance as the free-spirit best friend makes Hall’s anxieties all the more starkly laid out, yet Hall manages to keep the performance from veering into the realm of caricature, which is important in order for the film’s drama to work.
Scarlett Johansson, Scoop
Much was made when Match Point came out of how Scarlett Johansson was Woody Allen’s new muse, a la Diane Keaton in the 70s – but no one could have predicted the next year she would be playing a Woody surrogate alongside the man himself. Scoop is a real neurotic’s jackpot, with not one but two Woody-characters leading the way. As nosy student journalist Sandra Pramsky, Johansson puts on her best nasal New York accent and makes her way through an investigation into a serial killer’s identity. The character is far braver than Woody’s male counterpart, but equally stressed and jittery.
Tobey Maguire, Deconstructing Harry
It’s only a small role, but who could forget Tobey Maguire’s hilarious, wide-eyed take on the Woody character in a story-within-the-film of Deconstructing Harry? As a young guy who has a hooker over to his friend’s bachelor pad, only to end up having Death come calling, Maguire supplied an earnest aloofness that Allen himself often calls upon when playing stupid or hapless characters. It’s one of the funniest sequences in the film.
Owen Wilson, Midnight In Paris
Critics hailed Wilson’s performance for its none-too-insignificant role in helping generate Woody’s biggest commercial success of all time. Wilson handled all the usual aspects of the character, but on top of the standard performance, he added a layer of awe and wonder not seen in an Allen movie in quite some time – perhaps since The Purple Rose of Cairo. Wilson, like John Cusack, is an eminently likable guy onscreen, and he brings to the role a sense of genuine feeling that Allen himself hasn’t really channeled in decades (in his performances). By taking the film seriously, but also lightly, Wilson produced a counterintuitive take on the traditional role that made this film a winner.
Zachary Wigon is a writer based in New York. His work has appeared in the New York Press, NYLON, and Filmmaker Magazine, among many other outlets. He tweets @zachwigon.