Casting Beatty originally had no intention of acting in the film or even directing it because he had learned on projects such as Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Heaven Can Wait (1978) that producing a film alone is a difficult task. He briefly considered John Lithgow for the part of John Reed because the two were similar in appearance, but eventually Beatty decided to act in the film and direct it himself. Nicholson was cast as Eugene O'Neill over James Taylor and Sam Shepard. Nicholson was older than the young O'Neill he was playing, and having just completed work on Kubrick's The Shining (1980), was in a "most shambolic" and "grotesque" physical state, according to producer Simon Relph. But Nicholson was committed to the role and appeared at the start of filming four months later having lost the weight he had gained and looking much younger.
Casting Beatty originally had no intention of acting in the film or even directing it because he had learned on projects such as Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Heaven Can Wait (1978) that producing a film alone is a difficult task He briefly considered John Lithgow for the part of John Reed because the two were similar in appearance but eventually Beatty decided to act in the film and direct it himself Nicholson was cast as Eugene O'Neill over James Taylor and Sam Shepard Nicholson was older than the young O'Neill he was playing and having just completed work on Kubrick's The Shining (1980) was in a "most shambolic" and "grotesque" physical state according to producer Simon Relph But Nicholson was committed to the role and appeared at the start of filming four months later having lost the weight he had gained and looking much younger