It was 1972. John Boorman took four city-slicker actors into the Georgia wilderness, handed them some paddles, and basically told them to survive. No stuntmen. No insurance. Just raw, unfiltered ego and some of the most grueling physical labor ever put on film. When we talk about the actors in the movie Deliverance, we aren't just talking about a cast list. We’re talking about a group of men who underwent a legitimate trauma that translated into a masterpiece of Southern Gothic horror.
Most people remember the "Dueling Banjos" or that one horrific scene in the woods. But if you look closer, the movie works because of the friction between the four leads. You had Burt Reynolds, who was desperate to be taken seriously as a "real" actor. You had Jon Voight, fresh off Midnight Cowboy and looking for something visceral. Then you had the newcomers, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox, who had never even been in a movie before.
The Alpha and the Ego: Burt Reynolds as Lewis
Burt Reynolds was the heartbeat of this thing. Before Deliverance, he was mostly known for TV westerns and a certain "tough guy" charisma that hadn't quite found its vessel. Playing Lewis Medlock changed everything. Lewis is the kind of guy who thinks he can outrun the apocalypse because he’s good with a bow and arrow. He's arrogant. He's dangerous.
Actually, Burt almost died during filming. There's a scene where Lewis goes over a waterfall. Reynolds insisted on doing it himself because he thought a stuntman would look too "fake." He hit a rock, cracked his tailbone, and ended up washed ashore downstream, stripped of his clothes and his dignity. When he asked Boorman how it looked, the director reportedly told him it looked like a "dummy falling over a waterfall." That’s the kind of set it was. The actors in the movie Deliverance weren't pampered. They were battered.
Jon Voight’s Quiet Desperation
Jon Voight played Ed Gentry. Ed is the audience surrogate. He’s the "normal" one who just wants to get home to his family. While Reynolds provided the testosterone, Voight provided the moral decay. Watch his face during the cliff-climbing sequence. That’s not acting; that’s a man who is genuinely terrified of heights and exhausted by the humidity of the Chattooga River.
Voight and Reynolds had a weird chemistry. It was competitive. You can feel it on screen. They weren't necessarily friends during the shoot, which helped the tension. Ed has to become a killer to survive, and Voight plays that transition with a haunting, shaky hand. He’s the one who carries the guilt of what they did in those woods long after the credits roll.
The Brutal Debut of Ned Beatty
It’s hard to believe Deliverance was Ned Beatty’s first film. He played Bobby Trippe, the "soft" one of the group. What happened to Bobby in the woods is one of the most infamous moments in cinema history. It’s a scene that defined Beatty’s career, for better or worse.
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Honestly, it’s a miracle Beatty didn't quit. He was a stage actor from Kentucky, and he brought a certain vulnerability that the movie needed. Without Bobby, the stakes don't feel real. He’s the one who pays the highest price for Lewis’s hubris. People still shout lines from that scene at him decades later, which is a testament to how deeply that performance unsettled the public. He wasn't just an actor; he was a sacrifice to the river.
Ronny Cox and the Banjo Legacy
Then there’s Ronny Cox. He played Drew, the moral compass. He’s the one who starts the "Dueling Banjos" sequence. Fun fact: Cox didn't actually play the guitar in that scene. He was miming while a professional musician hid behind the porch, but the connection he makes with the young boy, Billy Redden, is one of the few "human" moments in a movie that otherwise feels like a descent into hell.
Drew is the only one who wants to do the right thing—to go to the police. And, naturally, in a world this cynical, Drew is the one who doesn't make it. Cox brought a gentleness that made his eventual fate feel like a gut punch.
Why the Casting Worked
The actors in the movie Deliverance were chosen because they felt like real people, not Hollywood stars. Well, except for Burt, but even he felt "local" in a way.
- They did their own canoeing.
- They stayed in cheap motels in Rabun County, Georgia.
- They dealt with locals who weren't always thrilled to have a film crew in town.
The Chattooga River itself was a character. It was unpredictable. The cast frequently found themselves trapped in whirlpools or pinned against rocks. This shared danger created a bond that you just can't manufacture on a soundstage in Burbank. They were a unit.
The Lasting Impact on the Cast
For Burt Reynolds, this was the peak. He went on to do Smokey and the Bandit and became a caricature of himself later on, but Deliverance proved he had range. He always said it was the best thing he ever did.
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Jon Voight continued to be a heavyweight, eventually winning an Oscar for Coming Home. But you can see the echoes of Ed Gentry in almost everything he does—that simmering intensity.
Ned Beatty became one of the greatest character actors of all time. Think about his "The world is a business" monologue in Network. That’s a long way from the river, but the grit started here.
Real-World Legacy of the Chattooga
The movie didn't just impact the actors; it changed the region. Before 1972, the Chattooga River was relatively unknown. After the movie, tourism exploded. People wanted to see the "Deliverance river." Sadly, many weren't prepared for how dangerous it actually is. Several people drowned trying to recreate the experience the actors went through.
The film also sparked a massive debate about how Appalachia is portrayed. Many locals felt the movie turned them into monsters. It’s a complicated legacy. The actors in the movie Deliverance were essentially portraying an invasion of urbanites into a world they didn't understand and didn't respect.
What Most People Get Wrong
There's a common misconception that the movie is just about the "squeal like a pig" scene. That’s reductive. It’s actually a movie about the failure of masculinity. Lewis (Reynolds) thinks he’s a god until he breaks his leg and becomes a crying, helpless child. The "strong" man fails, and the "weak" man (Voight) has to step up.
Another myth? That the banjo player, Billy Redden, was actually a "local" with the conditions portrayed in the film. He was a local kid, sure, but the "look" was enhanced with makeup and camera tricks. He was actually quite sharp, though he never really capitalized on the fame in the way the four leads did.
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Actionable Takeaways for Cinephiles
If you want to truly appreciate what the actors in the movie Deliverance went through, you should look for the 40th-anniversary retrospective interviews. They talk about the "no-stuntman" policy in detail.
- Watch the background: Many of the "extras" were local Georgia residents who had never seen a camera. Their reactions are genuine.
- Focus on the sound design: The lack of a traditional musical score—aside from the banjos—makes the performances feel more isolated.
- Check out the book: James Dickey, who wrote the novel and the screenplay, actually appears in the film as the Sheriff at the end. He was a massive, intimidating man who famously clashed with the director.
To understand modern survival cinema—everything from The Revenant to Yellowjackets—you have to go back to these four men in a canoe. They set the template for how we tell stories about humans being stripped of their civilization. It wasn't just a movie; it was an endurance test.
If you're revisiting the film, pay attention to the silence. It's in the quiet moments between the actors where the true horror of their situation settles in. They didn't need a lot of dialogue to show they were lost.
Next Steps for Deepening Your Knowledge
Read the original novel by James Dickey. It provides a much deeper internal monologue for Jon Voight's character and explains the "philosophy" of Lewis Medlock in a way that the movie only hints at. Then, look up the documentary The Deliverance of Philip Tippis, which explores the real-life impact of the filming on the Georgia community. Finally, compare this film to John Boorman’s other work, like Excalibur, to see how he handles themes of myth and man’s relationship with nature.