Jean Gabin wanted to star in one of the greatest movies of all time, but on one condition!

A look back at the crazy story of the moment Sergio Leone met Jean Gabin to offer her a major role in Once Upon a Time in America! For the role of Max, which was eventually played by James Woods in the film, Leone considered the famous French actor known for The Man Monster, The Coast of Mists or Clan of the Sicilians.

In May 1974, Sergio Leone shared with his friend, the French critic, novelist and screenwriter Noël Simsolo, the concept he had in mind for his next film, Once Upon a Time in America:

I think he liked me

It was in the beginning. I wanted Max to be French“– he told Noel Simsolo Conversations with Sergio Leone. “Not only the issue of co-production: I wanted to hear from the French living in America (…)”

“Gérard Depardieu is a great actor. He was dying to be Max. (…) I was tempted. In 1900 I found him really brilliant and I also knew that he often walked in the middle…” And to play the old Max, Sergio Leone imagines asking one of his idols, actor Jean Gabin. The two men met in 1974-1975. Leone recalls:

He gave me conditional consent

“I think I liked it. And I’ve always admired him. He gave me his consent on the condition that he didn’t go on a plane. He said, ‘Listen, Leone, we’re going to America by boat.’ What I don’t like is that the train is the easiest way to travel.

Unfortunately, this meeting will not be followed. The following year, after the release of The Holy Year by Jean Giraud, Jean Gabin died of leukemia on November 15, 1976. Leone saw his idea fall apart. With the actor out of the equation, Leone revisits his story and shifts gears:

“(…) I felt that by giving it this color I risked diminishing the scope of the story. With a French hero, the adventure seems to reflect a unique case. (…) It made no sense to put a French actor in this story. I also gave up another great idea: getting different actors depending on the age of the characters. There would be children, teenagers and old people… they looked like each other…”