The Outsiders, 1983’s The Outsiders, boasted a cast of young actors who went on to make it big in Hollywood. More than 40 years later, the film’s director is sharing their star-making auditions.
On Wednesday, Francis Ford Coppola shared footage on Instagram of Tom Cruise, Diane Lane, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, and more auditioning to play a group of Oklahoma greasers in his film The Outsiders, based on the 1967 novel of the same name by S.E. Hinton.
Anthony Michael Hall also appeared on an audition tape, auditioning for the film’s main character Ponyboy; C. Thomas Howell eventually won the role.
“42 years ago, we cast The Outsiders in a unique way. We got all the actors together on a set and would take turns having different actors read for different roles,” Coppola wrote in the caption for the video. He went on to describe how having each actor watch their co-stars audition “could have been a volatile situation, but it turned out to be a very positive one.”
“A natural respect and camaraderie emerged between them,” the filmmaker added in his caption. “The results were amazing and reminded me of my days as a camp counselor.”
Several of The Outsiders’ stars commented on Coppola’s post to reminisce about their time working on the film. “The people who came to this audition… so many have gone on to have amazing careers,” Howell, 57, wrote in one comment. “It was amazing.”
“It feels like yesterday!” Lowe, 59, added.
“The auditions and the experience of making this film still haunt me to this day,” Macchio, 62, shared. “Thank you, Francis (and Susie) ❤️.” Filmmaker and actor Eli Roth added his own commentary, calling The Outsiders “an instant classic,” while actor Frank Grillo wrote that the audition footage was “amazing to watch.”