DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975) | Dir: Sidney Lumet | Sonny (Al Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale) attempt to rob a bank but the police arrive before they can escape, prompting them to take the bank staff as hostages. As he pair face-off with the FBI, the media and public surrounds them. Eventually, the motive for the robbery is revealed: Sonny needs money to pay for his lover Leon’s gender reassignment surgery. Nominated for 6 Oscars, including Best Supporting Actor for the brilliant @theofficialchrissarandon as Leon, it won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay. While the film represents progressive thinking for its time, it is the humanity and dignity in Chris Sarandon’s performance as Leon that I want to call attention to. Thirty years later, I had the good fortune of directing Chris in LOGGERHEADS. I’ll never forget our first phone call. I had offered him the role of a Southern preacher who had rejected his gay son. Chris said he would do the part under one condition. He did not want to play a one-dimensional stereotype. He wanted to explore the complexity of being someone of faith who is struggling. He created a character whose head and heart are at war, and whose head is winning. As always, he was brilliant. One scene, in particular, breaks my heart every time. It takes place in a barber shop and he watches as a young boy is getting a haircut. In Chris’s eyes, we see the internal war. There’s no dialogue, but there’s grief, regret, nostalgia, warmth, all at once. I marvel at his performance. Today I celebrate Chris Sarandon — a great human being, actor, ally and friend.