written by Johnson at Fox, read the script and loved it and pressured Richard Zanuck at Fox to buy it; Zanuck was keen but wanted his father Daryl to read it first. Daryl did not get around to reading it and Johnson decided to sell to United Artists. This upset Daryl Zanuck who felt he had been misled and ended the formerly close relationship between him and Johnson. In April 1963, George Roy Hill announced that he and producer Jerome Hellman had bought the screen rights and would film it for their Pan Arts company which had a deal with United Artists. Casting Johnson wrote the role of Henry Orient for Rex Harrison but Harrison turned it down as the part was not big enough. In May 1963, Peter Sellers signed to play the male lead. It would be his first American movie. Sellers reportedly became available when a broken ankle meant he missed out on another job. The film's production was sped up to take advantage of his availability. Sellers said his character had "a dreadful Brooklynese accent but in an attempt to appear cultured and charming he hides it with a phony French accent." Spaeth, who was 15 at the time of filming, had no previous acting experience except for a minor role in a school production, and was cast after the head of her school's drama department suggested her to a talent scout. The World of Henry Orient is Spaeth's only film appearance, as she shortly thereafter left acting. Walker, who was 16 at the time of filming (turning 17 shortly before the film was released), had worked as a model and was suggested to the film's producer by a photographer. The filmmakers had auditioned hundreds of girls but the two who were chosen were recommended through friends. According to a 2012 article in The New Yorker by John Colapinto, director George Roy Hill handpicked Walker from hundreds of actresses who auditioned for the role of "Val". The filmmakers were so impressed with her performance that they reshaped the film during editing to focus more on her character, and shot the scene of her walking through a snowy Central Park months after production had wrapped. According to Colapinto, in the 2000s Walker revealed through a series of posts on IMDb that she and Hill fell in love during the filming, and that the relationship lasted throughout most