When the trail goes cold on a murder investigation of a policeman an undercover narcotics officer is lured back to the force to help solve the case.
Narc (2002) Online
An undercover narc dies, the investigation stalls, so the Detroit P.D. brings back Nick Tellis, fired 18-months ago when a stray bullet hits a pregnant woman. Tellis teams with Henry Oak, a friend of the dead narc and an aggressive cop constantly under the scrutiny of internal affairs. They follow leads, informants turn up dead, Nick's wife is unhappy he's back on the street, Henry's protective of the dead cop's wife. Nick reads and re-reads the case file, broods, watches Oak's heavy-handed style, sometimes joining in. The brass want to close out the case, Nick and Henry stay on it, and bits of evidence point them to an auto body shop. What actually happened; will Nick ever know?
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
 | Dan Leis | - | Elvin Dowd |
 | Jason Patric | - | Nick Tellis |
 | Lloyd Adams | - | Walter Dandridge |
| Meagan Issa | - | Little Girl |
 | Lina Giornofelice | - | Jeanine Mueller (as Lina Felice) |
 | A.C. Peterson | - | Freeman Franks (as Alan C. Peterson) |
 | Karen Robinson | - | Liz Detmer |
 | Chi McBride | - | Captain Cheevers |
 | Booth Savage | - | Cecil Mitchum |
 | Alan Van Sprang | - | Michael Calvess |
| Gavyn Donaldson | - | Tellis' Infant Son |
| Myles Donaldson | - | Tellis' Infant Son |
 | Krista Bridges | - | Audrey Tellis |
 | Ray Liotta | - | Henry Oak |
| Thomas Patrice | - | Officer Marcotte |
Since the movie was so low budget, in the scene where Jason Patric is running around with a photograph, the people he was asking were passers-by, not actors. So the people would genuinely not know who he was talking about.
Both Ray Liotta and Jason Patric participated in the film for nearly no money. In fact, at one point during production the cast and crew's paychecks weren't coming through due to legal and budgetary issues, so Liotta and Patric worked for free because they liked writer/director Joe Carnahan and didn't want to see his career ruined by the shutting down of his movie.
Tom Cruise was so impressed after seeing the movie that he took on the role of executive producer, and made sure the movie got a wider release than originally planned. He also convinced director Joe Carnahan to take the director's chair for Cruise's upcoming Mission: Impossible III (2006). However, not long after production started, Carnahan left the set due to creative differences with Cruise.
Ray Liotta gained 25 lbs. for the role by eating foods heavy in carbohydrates. Before he would shoot for the day, he prepared by eating Chinese food because the soy in the food helps to retain water and give him that "puffy" look. He also wore a fat suit under his clothes at all times as well as prosthetic skin under his eyes to give him an aged baggy look.
This film had a record 21 producers. There were more producers for this film than there were speaking parts in the movie.
Filmed in 28 days.
The run-down auto parts shop where the final scenes of the film take place was an actual abandoned chop shop that the filmmakers located in Toronto. Jason Patric claimed that it was one of the most miserable, uncomfortable environments he'd ever filmed in.
Harrison Ford showed a lot of interest in playing Henry Oak but bowed out not too long after.
The word "fuck" and its variations are said 298 times.
Alec Baldwin was once considered for the character of Detective-Lieutenant Henry Oaks.
Joe Carnahan came up with the idea for the film after he saw the non-fiction crime documentary Der Fall Randall Adams (1988).
According to CelebHeights, Liotta wore lifts in his shoes so that he would appear taller.
Jason Patric played an undercover Narcotics officer in the film 'Rush' in 1991.
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