The actor said the footwear was a deliberate choice made by him
Credit: Buena Vista Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection
NEED TO KNOW
- John Cusack wears Birkenstock sandals while playing U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin in the 1997 action film Con Air
- Cusack called himself the first non-Biblical action star to wear sandals throughout a movie
- The actor said the footwear matched the over-the-top tone of the thriller
John Cusack says the Birkenstock sandals his character wears throughout the 1997 action film Con Air were a deliberate choice — made by him.
Cusack, 60, played U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin in the film, which follows paroled Army Ranger Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) as he fights to survive a mid-air hijacking on a prison transport plane.
In the movie, Cusack wears the seemingly unconventional footwear — even in high-action scenes.
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Speaking on a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor told host Josh Horowitz: “I said, ‘I will be the first non-Biblical action star in the history of an action movie to wear sandals throughout a film.’ ”
“It’s like post-Heston, non-Biblical,” Cusack added, nodding to Charlton Heston films, like 1956’s The Ten Commandments and 1959’s Ben-Hur, both of which heavily feature men in sandals.
Credit: Touchstone Pictures/Getty; Katie Jones/Variety via Getty
Cusack added: “Well, I just thought it was really a distinction because the film was ridiculous — so I just thought, well, why don’t I be ridiculous?”
The actor revealed last year that he’d be willing to revisit one of his past projects — but it isn’t Con Air.
During a screening of the hit 1989 film Say Anything in Brooklyn, N.Y., Cusack said, “I was lucky that I never had the desire, or no one asked me to do any sequels.”
“There’s one that I think would be interesting to do, which would be 1408. Just because … I think today, you know, most movies suck,” he laughed, apologizing to the crowd.
1408, a psychological horror movie, was released in 2007.
Based on the short story by Stephen King, it was centered on a paranormal myth debunker who checked into the infamously haunted room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel.
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