Mike Wallis had specific ideas about the acting style he required for the key performances in his take on the classic Western. For the part of 'The Man,' he wanted someone big and gruff, a master of understatement, a tough guy.
Cohen Holloway was the first to audition. 'He was completely different to what I was imagining,' says Wallis. 'Cohen has a background in comedy but I sensed he could bring subtle character differences to each scene. His underlying charm allows the dark menacing character to become a whole person. He mastered the understatement allowing the camera to express each thought and he nailed the accent by studying Steve Earle's Copperhead Road twang.'
'In saying that he wasn't very manly, he got high on chewing tobacco during the shoot, he had no idea how to tie up a lady or ride a horse, but he managed to 'man up' and became a total cowboy.'
For Wallis casting Inge Rademeyer as Isabella was a natural choice. 'I always had her in mind when I was writing. She has a pure quality but also a fiery willpower which took her character beyond a simple damsel in distress. I could tell that Inge and Cohen instantly had the right chemistry and I knew it was going to work between them. She would be more than a simple object of desire so he would naturally fall in love with her.'
The Mexican Tracker Barnie Duncan was auditioned in Auckland and took the role to new comedic heights, one of the most exciting revelations for Wallis as a writer. 'It's was incredible to see people take what you've written and make it sing. Barnie had us in stitches.'
Finding Native American Indian actors in New Zealand was difficult as they could not find any Native American Indians nevermind actors! But they managed to find a Maori actor Toa Waaka who had the right look and was able to pull it off very convincingly.
The task of finding the right extras was also challenging. Female staff from the local Thai restaurant in Cromwell became male gold diggers and a group of Chinese students from Dunedin were auditioned in a bar.
