Craig Wasson Body Double
Craig Wasson (born March 15, 1954, Ontario, Oregon) starred as Jake Scully in Body Double (1984).
Wasson was a respected actor whose career never ignited
By 1984, Wasson had accumulated strong credits without breaking through to stardom. He had starred in Go Tell the Spartans (1978) opposite Burt Lancaster — a critically praised Vietnam War film — and played the lead in John Irvin's Ghost Story (1981), an A-list horror film alongside Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and John Houseman. He was a working actor with range and credibility.
Body Double should have been the film that elevated him. It was a starring role in a major studio release from one of Hollywood's most talked-about directors. Instead, the film's commercial failure and critical divisiveness may have contributed to his career plateauing. Wasson continued working steadily in film and television through the 1980s and 1990s — including notable roles in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and Malcolm X (1992) — but never became a household name.
De Palma found Wasson through television
De Palma and Wasson had no prior working relationship. De Palma discovered him through a two-part episode of the television series Skag (1980), starring Karl Malden, in which Wasson played Malden's oldest son. That performance caught De Palma's attention and led directly to the Body Double casting. (wikipedia)
De Palma directed Wasson to channel Jimmy Stewart without imitating him
De Palma was explicit about the Hitchcock parallel in how he directed Wasson — and equally explicit about where the line was:
"Craig, can you do a Jimmy Stewart imitation? And I started answering him in my best Jimmy Stewart voice, but before I got anything out, he said: Don't. You are Jimmy Stewart, just don't do Jimmy Stewart." — Craig Wasson, The Flashback Files (2020)
Jake Scully is ordinary and easily manipulated — qualities that are central to the plot. Wasson brings a naturalism to the role that contrasts with the baroque plotting around him. Where a more charismatic actor might have fought the material, Wasson inhabits Jake's passivity, making the audience feel the character's helplessness.
Wasson understood what the critical backlash missed:
"But Brian said: Nobody will ever see that. And he was right. Because he was always targeted." — Craig Wasson, The Flashback Files (2020)
Wasson worked steadily but never broke through to stardom
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | The Boys in Company C | Dave Bisbee | Vietnam War drama |
| 1978 | Go Tell the Spartans | Cpl. Stephen Courcey | With Burt Lancaster |
| 1981 | Ghost Story | Don Wanderley / David | Horror; all-star cast |
| 1981 | Four Friends | Danilo Prozor | Arthur Penn film |
| 1984 | Body Double | Jake Scully | De Palma |
| 1987 | A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 | Dr. Neil Gordon | Horror sequel |
| 1992 | Malcolm X | — | Spike Lee |
| 1998 | The Temptress | — | Direct-to-video |