Walter Hill, director of the cult classic The Warriors, reflects on the firing of actor Thomas G. Waites from the film, saying he regretted killing off his character early. Though indifferently received upon release in 1979, the film would go on to be one of the biggest cultural hits of its time, with its plot, quotes, and style influencing movies to this day. Hill would go on to direct a number of other action films throughout his career, including Streets of Fire, Red Heat, and 48 Hrs., and the pilot for HBO’s Deadwood.
The Warriors follows a street gang as they travel 30 miles back to their home turf in New York City after being framed for the murder of a rival gang leader, encountering other gangs and police along the way. One of the main characters, Fox (played by Waites), was met with an untimely end about midway through the film when he’s thrown onto some tracks and killed by a train during an encounter with the police. His fellow gang members then escape the scene, and the character isn’t too significantly mentioned again.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hill admits that Fox’s death was due to Waites being fired from the shoot due to some personal issues. Hill regrets not trying to work through their differences and says that Waites has since apologized for his disruptive behavior on set. Hill also says that he re-wrote The Warriors quickly to give Waites’ unshot material to Michael Beck’s character, Swan. Read his quote below:
I feel very bad about the whole thing. We weren’t getting along very well. I’m perfectly prepared to think that some of it was my fault. He did have issues — he had some problems in his life and it just wasn’t working. So I took him out of the movie and did a quick rewrite and gave a lot of his material to the Michael Beck character. I’m not proud of this at all. I think had I been a better director, I might have gotten through to him better. But he was, we felt, beginning to be a disruptive force. He’s since apologized. He’s written me a couple letters.
How The Warriors Would Be Different Without Fox’s Death
Fox is the character accused of murdering the rival gang leader at the beginning of the film, suggesting he could have had a more central role if Hill and Waites had gotten along better. Though it’s impossible to know for sure, Fox could have had the climactic duel with antagonist Luther at the end of the film instead of Swan. However, Hill’s regret seems to stem more from his relationship with Waites, rather than what Waites could have added to the movie.
With a career as long as Hill’s, it’s impossible not to look back and think about what could have been done differently. Nevertheless, with the endless whispers of The Warriors remakes, it’s important to remember how impactful the film was and the work it took to get there. It’s good that Hill and Waites eventually reconciled, though the question will always linger of how The Warriors could have turned out without such a tumultuous production, and whether those rough edges made the film what it was.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter