Elwood P. Stewart

It is impossible to discuss Harvey without also discussing Jimmy Stewart. He is the person everyone thinks of when thinking of Elwood P. Dowd, our protagonist. Not only did Stewart make the role his own, but he often expressed his love for the character. It may not have been his best role, but it appears to have been his favorite.

Now, let me be clear, I do not want the Elwood in our production to try to be Jimmy Stewart. There will be the inevitable comparisons without some kind of imitation at work. We need an Elwood who, like Stewart, makes the part his own. Stewart actually came to the part at a difficult point in his career. His luster was diminishing, and his post-war career needed a boost. This was not a major transitional role for Stewart, but Elwood gave him a little box office clout. Then came the great director Anthony Mann, and the series of unnervingly dark westerns they collaborated on together: Winchester 73, The Naked Spur, Bend of the River, and others. Now we had a Jimmy Stewart who possessed an edgy, raw spirit under the surface. Hitchcock saw these films and capitalized on the new persona in some of his best films - notably Vertigo.

Here's what you need to know. Jimmy Stewart piloted B-17s during the war. He flew some of the most harrowing missions any American pilot ever knew, rising in rank from Second Lieutenant to two star General in the Air Force. The effects of the war on him, and Stewart's fellow pilots, informed his performances forever more. Please remember that Harvey is set just after the war, and that Elwood is a drinker, This may be important to understanding a man who befriends an invisible rabbit.

For me, Jimmy Stewart's best role was as himself on one of the great television shows of all time - The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Johnny was a fellow Nebraskan, and the two shared a love for all things mid-west. Stewart cultivated his homespun image with Johnny's help. He always came on the show prepared with a story or two, or maybe a poem; and the two of them would wink and chuckle at shared private jokes. Later, when he moved further down the sofa next to Ed, Stewart (like any good actor) would listen to the other guests and laugh on cue, or join in on the fun. Johnny loved this in a guest, and Stewart was one of his very, very favorites. If some of this was Stewart playing his part, who's to complain?

Jimmy Stewart won't walk through the door during auditions. Yet, someone will walk in with a particular singularity which will define Elwood as I see him. It may be invisible to him but, like Elwood P. Dowd, I like to think that I have the ability to see things which others don't.