Editing Total Recall (1990 film) (section)

===Cast and characters===
{{multiple image|total_width=300
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| footer = (Left to right) [[Michael Ironside]] (pictured in 2009) who portrayed Richter and [[Roy Brocksmith]] (date unknown) who played Rekall employee Dr. Edgemar
| image1 = Michael Ironside WOH-06 (cropped).jpg
| alt1 = A photograph of Michael Ironside
| image2 = Roy Brocksmith.png
| alt2 = A black-and-white photograph of Roy Brocksmith
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Verhoeven chose Michael Ironside to portray Cohaagen's henchman Richter. Ironside had previously auditioned for the lead in ''RoboCop'' and Verhoeven had also offered him the role of antagonist Clarence Boddicker, which he turned down because he did not want to portray another "psychopath" character following his role in ''[[Extreme Prejudice (film)|Extreme Prejudice]]'' (1987). Ironside said he considered Richter more of a "sociopath", who had personal ambitions and covets Cohaagen's position.<ref name="DOGCast"/>{{sfn|Murray|1990|p=54}}{{sfn|Murray|1990b|p=59}} Turning down a role on ''RoboCop'' and a separate film had created the impression that Ironside was difficult to work with, so he had to complete an audition before being offered the role. In it, he portrayed someone having an emotional breakdown leading to him lying on the floor crying as Verhoeven moved in for a closeup shot.<ref name="DOGCast"/><ref name="BFIORal"/> Schwarzenegger believed Ironside's physical presence made him a credible threat to his portrayal of Quaid.{{sfn|Murray|1990|p=54}}

The female leads, Rachel Ticotin and Sharon Stone, were chosen in part for their athleticism, which was needed for the physically demanding roles.{{sfn|Murray|1990|p=52}} Stone said that her physically formidable character resulted in the cast and crew treating her like she was "one of the guys", and that Ironside "was the one guy who never forgot I was a woman. When I was thrown down, he would help me up."<ref name="PeopleSchwarzJune52020"/> Verhoeven's daughters were responsible for casting Benny, picking Mel Johnson Jr.'s screen test for the available options. He recounted having just finished filming a "horrible" [[Blaxploitation|black exploitation]] film when he read the ''Total Recall'' script and, after seeing Benny described as a "black jivester", he threw the script across the room. Nonetheless, he eventually read it through and decided to audition because he believed the character was more fully realized, saying "this guy is cold and calculating and the story was intriguing."<ref name="SyFyCast2"/><ref name="SyFyat30"/><ref name="LATimesJohnson"/>

Cox had previously worked with Verhoeven on ''RoboCop'' and traded on the actor's history of playing good-natured characters to make his villainous turn more impactful. Describing his portrayal, Cox said that he did not employ [[method acting]] but did try to understand how the character would feel and think and how he would react to situations and that would determine his performance. The character's hairstyle came about after Cox's hair was slicked-back in order to make a face mold for special effects purposes. Cox knew it was the right look and convinced Verhoeven to reshoot two days of Cox's scenes with the new style.<ref name="SyFyat30"/><ref name="SyFyCox"/> When Marshall Bell auditioned for the role, the script did not explain the relationship between George and Kuato, and he was confused as to why George had so few lines. Although voice actors were considered for Kuato, Verhoeven decided to use Bell.<ref name="CBRCast"/> Verhoeven based the appearance and physicality of Brocksmith's Dr. Edgemar on the central scientist character portrayed by [[Paul Newman]] in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s 1966 thriller ''[[Torn Curtain]]''. He wanted an actor who looked "naive and strange and a bit weird."<ref name="FSREdgemar"/>
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