The first role that comes to mind when I think of Barry Pepper is the punishing his character took in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. I imagine the casting folk might have referenced that raw performance and might have subconsciously chosen Pepper because he fits the bill and the name. Pepper has grabbed the last available title role, he’ll play “Lucky” Ned Pepper who is the first line of defense safeguarding another outlaw in Josh Brolin’s character who is on the run for good reason.
So far, True Grit has Brolin, Pepper, newcomer Hailee Steinfeld and this year’s Oscar nominated thesps Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon.
More faithful to the Charles Portis novel on which the original film was based, the remake would see Bridges take the role that John Wayne played and Damon would take on the Glen Campbell role of a Texas Ranger tracking the outlaw. The story centers on a 14-year-old girl who tags along with an aging U.S. marshal, Rooster Cogburn, and another lawman to track the outlaw (Brolin) who killed her father. The original told the story from Cogburn’s point of view, but the new version will work from the viewpoint of the girl.
