"Wilson" volleyball from Cast Away
Maker
Wilson Sporting Goods Company
(American, founded 1913)
Date1999-2000
ClassificationsPop Culture
DimensionsOverall: 8 x 8 in. (20.3 x 20.3 cm)
DescriptionAn off-white leather Wilson-brand volleyball used in the film Cast Away (2000). "Wilson" features a bloody handprint with eyes, a nose, and mouth inset as negative space.This volleyball has been screen-matched to the to the cave scene of Cast Away, after Tom Hanks’ character Chuck Noland has created fire. In the film, Chuck cuts his hand while attempting to start a fire, and picks up the volleyball, leaving a bloody handprint. He later draws a face in the smeared blood and gives the ball its name, "Wilson." Several volleyballs were used throughout filming as Wilson's features changed.
Cast Away tells the story of Chuck Noland’s four years stranded alone on a desert island. After surviving a plane crash, Chuck created his companion Wilson from a volleyball he found in a FedEx package that washed ashore.
The idea for Wilson came from screenwriter William Broyles, Jr. While researching for the film, Broyles attended a survival camp in Mexico where he found a volleyball washed on the shore and began speaking to it. Broyles used Wilson as a means to have dialogue throughout the film.
