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Vincent D’Onofrio’s journey to stardom is a reminder that life’s pivotal moments often arrive when least expected. In a recent appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, the actor recounted a near-miss that could have cost him his iconic role in Full Metal Jacket.
Back in the day, D’Onofrio was serving tables at the Hard Rock Cafe on 57th Street in New York City, still hoping to make his mark in the film industry. A fortuitous encounter with his friend Matthew Modine, who was taking a break from a movie set, turned out to be a turning point. Curious about Modine’s current project, D’Onofrio learned it was a Stanley Kubrick film and was handed an address where he could send his audition tape.
Without any professional representation, D’Onofrio was determined to seize the opportunity. He pooled together roughly $60, rented a camera with the help of a friend, and recorded a monologue on a stoop at 10th Avenue and 21st Street. An NYU student lent a hand with the editing, and D’Onofrio mailed the tape, his expectations tempered by the odds.
What followed was an unexpected phone call that would change the trajectory of his career.
Then the phone rang.
A voice on the other end said they were calling on behalf of Stanley Kubrick. D’Onofrio assumed it was one of his firefighter and cop friends pulling a prank—and promptly hung up.
They called back immediately. “Don’t hang up!” said Leon Vitali, Kubrick’s right-hand man. “Stanley Kubrick wants to talk to you.”
In hindsight, the mix-up makes a little more sense. D’Onofrio told Meyers he’d always assumed Kubrick was British, not realizing the legendary director was actually from the Bronx.
The role he landed, of course, was Private Leonard “Pyle” in Full Metal Jacket—a part that required D’Onofrio to gain 80 pounds, going from about 210 to 290. It also gave him a front-row seat to Kubrick’s famously meticulous process. D’Onofrio recalled the director communicating with actors via megaphone from 40 feet away and pushing for far more takes than most filmmakers would. While D’Onofrio’s personal max was nine takes for the “Blanket Party” scene, he said he saw others pushed to around 60.
Forty years later, D’Onofrio is back in another physically demanding role as Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin, in Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again, now streaming on Disney+. These days, he’s swapped dramatic weight gain for a fat suit—something he’s been candid about hating. In fact, he joked that he bonded with Colin Farrell, who wore a similar suit in The Penguin, over their shared discomfort.
Still, D’Onofrio isn’t taking it easy. For this season’s boxing scenes, he wanted Kingpin’s arms and shoulders to look the part, meaning he trained hard enough to match his upper body to the suit.
Not bad for a guy who once almost missed his shot because he thought Stanley Kubrick was just another friend messing with him.