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Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk in Daredevil was a knockout. Fans knew it, and even the show’s creators knew it. But getting him in the role almost didn’t happen. Back when Daredevil’s first season was coming together, showrunner Steven S. DeKnight had a tough time casting Kingpin. He knew exactly who he wanted—D’Onofrio, but there was a hitch!
The actor was considered too pricey because his popular TV series, Law & Order, had put him in a different pay grade, and Marvel assumed they couldn’t afford him. That could’ve ended it, but fate had other plans. While talking about his Comixology Originals comic Beneath, Steven S. DeKnight recalled his time on Daredevil in an interview with Horror Fuel:
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“We wanted to make sure the casting was right,” DeKnight said. “I had sleepless nights over trying to cast Wilson Fisk, Kingpin, and my feeling was, there was only one person that could do it, and that was Vincent D’Onfrio. And I remember telling [executive producer] Jeph Loeb, I sent him a picture of Vincent with a shaved head on the internet, and I said, ‘Come on. There’s nobody else that can do this. This is Kingpin.’ And Jeph said, ‘Yeah, yeah, we love him, but he’s way too expensive. He was on Law & Order, he makes like a million dollars an episode. We’ll never get him.'”
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Then he continued, “But, it turns out, a couple of months later, our casting director, Laray Mayfield, was personal friends with him. And she said, ‘Well, let me just check and see if there’s any interest.’ And it turns out Vincent was a huge Daredevil fan, a huge comic book fan of Daredevil, and he said, ‘Yeah, I’d love to do it. Look, we’ll work something out on the price.'”
Of course, D’Onofrio wasn’t the only casting success. Charlie Cox stepping into Matt Murdock’s shoes was another masterstroke. This time, the credit went to the executive producer, Joe Quesada. Years before Daredevil, Quesada had spotted Cox in a movie and immediately thought, “That’s Matt Murdock.” When the time came to find their lead, Cox was brought in, and he aced the part.
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With Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio on board, Daredevil became a hit. The chemistry between the two was electric. Fisk’s threatening presence clashed perfectly with Murdock’s relentless drive. And fans ate it up. The show’s first season remains one of Marvel’s best TV outings, primarily because of these two performances.
Now, it’s hard to imagine anyone else as Kingpin. D’Onofrio brought layers to the character – brutal yet powerless, terrifying yet human. The fact that he was so close to not getting the role is absurd. But thanks to Mayfield’s connection, everything fell into place, and fans got the perfect Kingpin.
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