He saw this quality in their writing that he felt mirrored my priorities as a director.
It now also marks one of Dennehy’s final performances.
He’s just such a presence."
Credit: Richard Hutchings
ANDREW AHN:“My first thoughts are really about his family.
I’m worried and concerned for them.
I got to spend time with them and eat lunch.
Richard Hutchings
I’m thinking a lot about them.
He was still so passionate about it.
I just want to ensure that we honor Brian in the way that he really deserves.
Richard Hutchings
I read the screenplay [forDriveways] and just cried.
I immediately wanted to do it, and the question became, who’s gonna play Del?
I think it was so obvious that the best choice for the role was Brian.
Richard Hutchings
That’s something that Brian is so good at.
He’s such an imposing physical presence but then is such a softy.
I just knew that he would be the right person for this.
Richard Hutchings
When I met him, he was such a fun guy.
He loved to talk and tell stories, hear stories.
It was such a joy.
So, when he said yes to the project, I knew that we had a movie.
This would be great because Brian Dennehy was going to be in it.
I remember when we started talking about Brian, my writers mentioned they had seen him on Broadway.
I found a DVD copy of his performance inDeath of a Salesman.
Talking to him, he’s such a jokester.
He’s so funny, so witty, never missed the opportunity for a punchline.
I think he had this quality of really being open and you just felt comfortable with him.
When I was going to meet him in person for the first time, I was a little nervous.
Maybe he would just be this tough and gruff guy.
But he loved just sitting, chatting with me.
We chatted for two hours about the film, about my life.
It was so fun on set because Brian was so feisty.
He had a lot of questions about the character.
He had a lot of thoughts about Del’s life.
He could’ve shown up to our set and phoned it in.
He was really invested.
I remember we filmed Brian’s coverage first and then we shot Lucas' coverage.
I’m really inspired.
Do you mind if we try that again?
I’d love to get another take.'
We filmedDrivewaysin August of 2018.
I was hoping to see him again this spring.
I was excited to reunite with him.
So, it’s been a little while since I’ve seen Brian.
I didn’t see him much during the Tribeca premiere.
He came for the Q&A.
Their friendship that they had on set was really special and unique.
I remember, between takes, Brian would help Lucas with his British accent just for fun.
They really got along.
And Brian would say, ‘Why would he be suspicious of him?
He’s a great kid, he’s adorable.’
It was such a gift for us.
He was so generous and loved talking to the crew and was such an important presence on set.
He’s had such an amazing career and a legacy.
And for the first time, my brother said, ‘What was it like?
What was it like working with him on set?
You were working with the sheriff from [First Blood], the dad fromTommy Boy!’
He was finally excited about me being a filmmaker because of Brian Dennehy.
