'Cape Fear': Expert in villains, Javier Bardem denies fascination by recreating De Niro's iconic psychopath

Javier Bardem, Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson talk about the psychopath in 'Cape Fear'
There are many reasons to watch the new series "Cape Fear", which adapts John D. MacDonald's 1957 book and the 1962 and 1991 films. But it is undeniable that, among them, the biggest is probably Javier Bardem's performance as Max Cady, the psychopath immortalized in the role of Robert De Niro for 35 years.
After all, the character is the new addition to the Spanish actor's enviable gallery of villains, celebrated above all for the killer with the questionable hair - "from Beiçola", some would say - from "No Country for Old Men" (2007).
Since then, he has also given life to antagonists in "007 - Operation Skyfall" (2012), "Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge" (2017), "Mom!" (2017) and in the series "Monsters: Menendez Brothers: Parent Killers".
"It's not exactly that I'm fascinated by them. It's what they call me to do", jokes Bardem, in an interview with g1 - and gets laughs from co-stars Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson.
"Apparently, I'm not a romantic protagonist. They just want me to be this cruel person."
Javier Bardem in a scene from 'Cabo do Fear'
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That's not exactly true. At 57 years old, the Spaniard also has a good number of heartthrobs in his career. He even played a Brazilian in the romantic "Eat, Pray, Love" (2010), with Julia Roberts.
Despite rejecting a fascination with depraved characters, he admits that there is a natural attraction to villains.
"It's about the fact that you can play with morality and hypocrisies and all that manipulation and the fear of the other person in front of you. Working with that to gain control over them," he says. usually fun roles to play, which give you more freedom to do different things than the hero, let's put it that way."
Robert De Niro in a scene from the 1991 film 'Cape Fear'
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Chess game and changing roles
The series, whose third episode premieres this Friday (12) on the Apple TV streaming platform, gives a new interpretation to the story of the lawyer who needs to deal with the quest for revenge from a determined ex-convict who blames him for his years in prison.
The changes are considerable, of course. And they go beyond lengthening the story to cover the ten episodes scheduled for the season.
This time, the protagonist is a woman, the lawyer played by Adams, who married the prosecutor (Wilson) of Cady's murder trial after being responsible for defending the accused. You can understand the villain's suspicions.
"I especially know that the scenes where the three of us are together have such a wonderful dynamic. It's a chess game of cat and mouse. It was really fun to work on that dynamic," says the six-time Oscar-nominated actress.
"Also because of the unpredictability in Max, which leaves us on edge. And our characters have to maneuver with each other, which created such a great internal monologue between us. It's all really fun to play."
Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson and Lily Collias in a scene from 'Cape Fear'
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The blessing of Scorsese and Spielberg
The series is executive produced by Martin Scorsese, director of the 1991 version, and Steven Spielberg, who almost directed the film at the time.
It turns out that the two cinema legends decided to exchange projects at the end of the 1980s. And it's hard to deny that the decision was a great idea for the two.
Scorsese wanted to prove that he could achieve a commercial success - and managed to make more than US$ 180 million at the box office with an estimated budget of US$ 35 million.
Spielberg was left with a small dramatic film photographed in black and white about the Holocaust. "Schindler's List" was the biggest Oscar winner in 1994, with seven in total. In addition to best film, it gave the filmmaker his first victory as a director.
Known for the horror anthology "Channel Zero", screenwriter Nick Antosca grew up fascinated by Scorsese's vision for what he considers "a fable".
Because of this, he went after the studio that had the rights to the adaptation to try a new interpretation. Apparently something in the universe dictates that there should be one every thirty years or so.
"A few years ago, I went to Universal and Scorsese and Spielberg and asked for their blessing and sold this new version. They were very generous and supportive the entire time. They read scripts, made suggestions. Marty would show up on Zoom or call me and help iron out details. It was awesome," says the creator of the series.
"'Cape Fear' is like a fable. It's like a myth. It's a timeless story that absorbs what's happening in the atmosphere, in the culture, in the time in which it's made. It could be done again in 30 years and its bones would still be strong.

Source: G1