Cast Notes
It was envisioned that Charlton Heston would be cast as Livius, but ultimately Stephen Boyd, who played opposite to Heston in Ben-Hur, got the part after Charlton Heston turned it down upon learning that Sophia Loren would be the leading lady (He had costarred with her in El Cid, and had not gotten on well with her. Thus, he had absolutely no desire to work with her again). It had also been offered to Kirk Douglas, who also turned it down.
Richard Harris was originally cast as Commodus, but he was replaced by Christopher Plummer. Harris would later play the role of Marcus Aurelius in the 2000 film Gladiator. According to his published diaries, Charlton Heston also refused the role, mainly because he had recently appeared in El Cid and 55 Days at Peking. (It is also rumored that Charlton Heston turned down any part in the movie due to bad blood between himself and Sophia Loren, stemming from El Cid.)
Alec Guinness was cast as Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and during the production he became good friends with Sophia Loren. On an evening out Loren persuaded Guinness to dance "The Twist" with her, which he did for the first time in his life. On the flight to Spain, one of the film's writers struck up a conversation with Guinness after seeing him working with the script; the actor stated that he disliked his lines and was rewriting them before starting memorization.
Sara Montiel was offered the role of Lucilla but turned it down. Loren, who took the part, was the highest paid cast member at $1 million.
Read more about this topic: The Fall Of The Roman Empire (film), Cast
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