Jon Cryer
Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor and television director. Born into a show business family, Cryer made his motion picture debut as a teenaged photographer in the 1984 romantic comedy "No Small Affair"; his breakout role came in 1986, playing "Duckie" Dale in the John Hughes-written film "Pretty in Pink". In 1998, he wrote and produced the independent film "Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five".
The Hudsucker Proxy
This was the first time the Coen brothers chose big stars to act in their movie. Joel Silver's first choice for Norville Barnes was Tom Cruise, but the Coens persisted in a desire to cast Tim Robbins. Winona Ryder and Bridget Fonda were in competition for the role of Amy Archer before Jennifer Jason Leigh was cast. Leigh had previously auditioned for a role in the Coens's "Miller's Crossing" and "Barton Fink". Her failed auditions prompted the Coens to cast her in "The Hudsucker Proxy". To prepare for her role as Amy Archer, Leigh read the biographies of some of the most substantial ladies of the thirties and forties such as, Rosalind Russell, Katharine Hepburn and Jean Arthur. When casting the role of Sidney Mussburger, "Warner Bros. suggested all sorts of names," remembered Joel. "A lot of them were comedians who were clearly wrong. Mussburger is the bad guy and Paul Newman brought that character to life." However, the Coens first offered the role to Clint Eastwood, but he was forced to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts.