Donald Westlake on Translating a Character from Book to the Big Screen

In a filmed interview called "The Hunter," [Donald Westlake] pointed out that three very different actors played his antihero in the first three films -- Karina in Pop art dresses for "Made in USA," Lee Marvin in a '60s suit for "Point Blank" and the rugged Brown for "The Split."

As Westlake recalled: "A friend of mine said, 'So far, Parker's been played by a white guy, a black guy and a woman. I think the character lacks definition.' "

--From Scott Timberg's January 8, 2009 L.A. Times article, "Hollywood rarely did Donald Westlake justice."