20 Things You Didn't Know About The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

19. Charles Bronson Turned Down The Role Of Angel Eyes

Charles Bronson Once Upon A Time In The West Charles Bronson
Paramount Pictures

Despite his limited screen time in comparison to Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef damn near steals the show in his terrifying turn as the villainous Angel Eyes. However, Leone was originally uncomfortable casting him in the role, as he felt audiences would not like seeing him as a villain after his previous performance as the affable Douglas Mortimer in For A Few Dollars More.

His original choice for the role was Charles Bronson, who turned the film down as he was busy filming The Dirty Dozen. Van Cleef was then cast - though interestingly, this had also been the case with For A Few Dollars More. Van Cleef had been brought in to replace Bronson in Leone's previous work.

Of course, Bronson would finally work with Leone when he starred in Once Upon A Time In The West 2 years later.

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