Looksies no feelsies.
And how does it feel to be part of the greatest film ever made? How old were you when filming OUATIA? How do you feel about Leone's other movies?
I'm really proud to have been part of it. I was 18, and it was the best acting job I had gotten up to that point. I mean, I got to go to Italy!!
All of us kids stayed in the same hotel in Rome and had the time of our lives!
I don't think any of us realized how important the film would become over the years, especially since it turned out to be his last.
When I auditioned, I didn't really know who Leone was, just that he had directed "spaghetti westerns"
Of course, after I was cast I rented ALL of his films and became a huge fan.
My favorite: "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"
Coincidentally, a few years after OUATIA I was in a play in NYC with the GREAT Eli Wallach. He is one of my great heroes, a class act all the way.
We traded a few Leone stories backstage. Wallach LOVED OUATIA. He made a joke about being cast as a Mexican and then Leone casting an Italian as a Jew!
As far as communicating with Leone, he spoke some English, but not much. It was very charming. There was a guy on the crew who spoke Italian and English and was working as his translator specifically for the actors. I can't remember his name but he is credited as "Dialogue Coach" I believe.
One great story:
We were shooting the scene on the roof, Leone was doing the master shot from the roof next door.
He called action and then shouted to me across the rooftops in that thick accent "Okay, Julie, start F***ING!"
The memory of it makes me laugh out loud.
