| CASTING
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Some of the planned New York locations
became unsuitable and it was brought to Leone's attention that Montreal, which was the capital of Prohibition, had more buildings and details of the 1930s than New York.
During a scouting trip to Montreal in October 1975, Leone declared that the cast
of the movie would include Gerard Depardieu as Noodles and Richard Dreyfuss as Max.
Jean Gabin would play the older Max and maybe James Cagney the older Noodles. And there could
be guest appearances by some of the great stars of the golden age, such as George Raft, James Stewart, Henry Fonda and Glenn Ford.
There would also be an important part for French-Canadian singer actor Robert Charlesbois. And part of the story would be set in
Canada. Cagney was said to be flattered by the proposition but had trembling hands and Richard Dreyfuss did not feel it was the right moment for him to take on the part of Max.
Gerard Depardieu very much wanted a role in the movie and was prepared to learn English with the correct accent if required.
De Niro had been approached much earlier, during the making of Godfather Part 11 (1974) and Leone offered him the choice of playing either lead.
It became apparent that De Niro
would be able to play Noodles as an adult and an old man and De Niro was actively involved with choosing the remaining cast members.
Pre-production casting was extensive - 3000 actors were interviewed for 110 speaking roles and 500 auditions were videotaped.
Actors for the role of Max included Jon Voight, William Hurt, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel and John Malkovich.
Liza Minelli and Geena Davis auditioned for the part of Deborah. It's reported that Clint Eastwood turned down the part of Jimmy O'Donnell.
Final cast & crew:
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Robert De Niro
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David 'Noodles' Aaronson
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James Woods
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Maximilian 'Max' Bercovicz
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Elizabeth McGovern
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Deborah Gelly
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Tuesday Weld
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Carol
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Treat Williams
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James Conway O'Donnell (Jimmy)
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James Hayden
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Patrick 'Patsy' Goldberg
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Joe Pesci
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Frankie Minaldi
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Larry Rapp
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'Fat' Moe Gelly
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Danny Aiello
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Police Chief Vincent Aiello
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William Forsythe
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Philip 'Cockeye' Stein
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Burt Young
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Joe
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Darlanne Fluegel
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Eve
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Dutch Miller
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Van Linden
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Robert Harper
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Sharkey
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Richard Bright
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Chicken Joe
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Gerard Murphy
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Crowning
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Amy Ryder
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Peggy
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Olga Karlatos
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Woman in the Puppet Theatre
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Mario Brega
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Mandy
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Ray Dittrich
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Trigger
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Frank Gio
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Beefy
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Karen Shallo
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Lucy Aiello
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Angelo Florio
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Willie The Ape
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Scott Tiler
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Young Noodles
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Rusty Jacobs
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Young Max/David Bailey
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Brian Bloom
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Young Patsy
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Adrian Curran
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Young Cockeye
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Mike Monetti
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Young 'Fat' Moe
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Noah Moazezi
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Dominic
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James Russo
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Bugsy
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Frankie Caserta
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Bugsy's Gang Member #1
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Joey Marzella
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Bugsy's Gang Member #2
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Clem Caserta
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Al Capuano
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Frank Sisto
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Fred Capuano
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Jerry Strivelli
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Johnny Capuano
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Julie Cohen
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Young Peggy
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Marvin Scott
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Marvin Brentley
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Mike Gendel
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Irving Gold
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Paul Herman
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Monkey
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Ann Neville
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Girl in Coffin
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Joey Faye
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Adorable Old Man
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Linda Ipanema
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Nurse Thompson
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Tandy Cronyn
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Reporter #1
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Richard Zobel
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Reporter #2
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Baxter Harris
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Reporter #3
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Arnon Milchan
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Limousine Chauffeur
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Bruno Iannone
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Thug
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Marty Licata
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Cemetery Caretaker
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Marcia Jean Kurtz
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Max's Mother
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Estelle Harris
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Peggy's Mother
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Richard Foronjy
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Officer 'Fartface' Whitey
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Gerritt Debeer
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Drunk
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Jennifer Connelly
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Young Deborah
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Alexander Godfrey
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Newstand Proprietor
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Cliff Cudney
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Mounted Policeman #1
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Paul Farentino
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Mounted Policeman #2
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Bruce Bahrenburg
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Sgt. P. Halloran
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Mort Freeman
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Street Singer
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Sandra Solberg
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Friend of Young Deborah
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Jay Zeely
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Foreman
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Massimo Liti
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Macro
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Salvatore Billa
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One of Beefy's Thugs (uncredited)
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Matteo Cafiso
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Boy in Park (uncredited)
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Nelson Camp
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Newspaper Salesman (uncredited)
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Scott Coffey
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Teenager (uncredited)
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Francesca Leone
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David Bailey's Girlfriend (uncredited)
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Chuck Low
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Deborah Gelly's father (uncredited)
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Produced by Claudio Mancini
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Executive Producer Arnon Milchan
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Original Music by Ennio Morricone
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Cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli
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Film Editing by Nino Baragli
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Casting by Cis Corman Joy Todd
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Production & Art Design by Carlo Simi
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Costume Design by Gabriella Pescucci
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