“Harold” – Its Reel and Real Family Tree

As a filmmaker, I was attracted to Harold because it is a unique combination of an earnest, heartwarming storyline and hilarious "lay it in your lap" comedy. Ironically enough, Harold was "laid in my lap" by a mix of family relations, which, fatefully, carried on into casting and production of the film.

This crazy path to Harold's creation first started at Director T. Sean Shannon's family reunion. He states, "Many men in my family suffer from male pattern baldness. So, at this reunion, we decided to shave two of my other nephews' heads to match the photograph [of my nephew Byron with male-pattern baldness]. We presented my nephews to our family, saying that [male pattern baldness] claimed two more this year. The place went nuts. This reunion prompted me to make an SNL skit, which Lorne Michaels loved. He encouraged me to turn it into a short, and, after I showed the photo of my nephew to friend Greg Fields, he looked at me and said, ‘We should make this into a movie.' So one summer we just sat down and wrote the script. My soon-to-be agent liked it so much that he gave it to William Sherak." 

William Sherak then proceeded to contact me. He actually called me all the way from Hawaii, laughing hilariously. William also told his father, Tom Sherak, at Revolution Studios. Tom's involvement thus helped to bring Cuba Gooding Jr. on board.

When it came to the rest of the talent, I immediately thought to cast Nikki Blonsky because of our mutual connection to Great Neck North. "There is no way we can't have Nikki in this film," I thought. "She would not only enjoy the script but would also love returning to her hometown to shoot." We both really enjoyed being back in Great Neck. Walking the halls of our old junior high school (which my daughter currently attends) was such a personal experience for us both.

I was also very enthused to cast Spencer Breslin. When he came in to read for the part, T. Sean and I were blown away with this kid's acting and presence. After congratulating him on the part, T. Sean made it clear that "there [was] just one condition. You have to shave your head." After all, the whole story revolves around Harold's premature balding. Luckily, Spencer was such a great sport. One of the best I've ever worked with.

T. Sean's hilarious SNL family was included, by his request, with the casting of Colin Quinn, Chris Parnell and Rachel Dratch.

Lastly, this crazy Harold family tree also ties into the film itself. Harold revolves around this title character, a young teen who is teased relentlessly for his premature balding. He is the complete opposite of his popular sister, Shelly (played by Stella Maeve), and they disagree on everything. However, with the help of the school janitor (Gooding Jr.), Harold prevails and endures, finally being accepted by Rhonda (Blonsky) and the rest of the nerd gang, and eventually becoming allies with his sister.

Harold beautifully brings together so many people related by this Harold family tree. T. Sean's personal family served as an inspiration, while his SNL family encouraged him to make it into something more. Once the film was in my hands, I continued the family relations by shooting in my and Blonsky's hometown of Great Neck, NY, and casting Breslin, whose sister (Abigail) is great friends with my own kids. The family ties throughout the making of Harold are parallel to the sweet story within the film.

I walked away from the making of Harold with such a great feeling. It still amazes me that such a sweet, unique film sparked from a single hilarious snapshot, and created all these family connections along the way.

Photos courtesy of the filmmaker.

The film releases in NYC, LA and FLA on June 13. Spencer Breslin will appear on Jay Leno on June 11.