The Client

At the time of filming, author John Grisham had casting approval over all film adaptations of his work, and specified that "no professional child actors in Hollywood" be cast as Mark Sway. He felt that the film wouldn't work with a well-known child actor (sporting a phony accent) in the role and that by casting an unknown in the part (preferably from the Memphis area, where the story is set) the film's credibility wouldn't be compromised. Brad Renfro, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee beat out thousands of actors for the role, including Macaulay Culkin.

Some have suggested that Mark could not be charged with obstruction of justice simply for lying or refusing to cooperate with the FBI, because of the 5th Amendment. This is not true. Lying to the FBI/prosecutor/police officer can result in a charge of obstruction. Refusing to answer questions will quickly result in a formal subpoena; if one then continues to refuse to testify, he could be charged with contempt. The right not to speak to police or prosecutors (the 5th Amendment) only consists of the right not to incriminate oneself of a crime. However, at the court hearing, Reggie tries to argue around this limitation by pointing out that the prosecutors vaguely implied that Mark could've been involved in killing the lawyer. But the judge doesn't buy it (and the prosecutors could easily get around the problem by giving Mark a guarantee of immunity). If he refused to testify, Mark could be charged with contempt of court. If he lied, he could be charged with obstruction of justice, lying to a federal agent, and/or perjury.

Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: The Client/Lassie/It Could Happen to You/North/Barcelona (1994)