Trending badgeTrendingPosted 1 hour agoSubscribe to Screen Time NewsletterCaret DownI Genuinely Can't Watch "West Side Story" The Same Way Again After Reading These 21 FactsAnita and Maria's dresses at the dance were estimated to cost $4,000 each, making them the most expensive costumes in the movie.by Nora DominickBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink 1. First, before filming began on West Side Story, several big Hollywood names were reportedly interested in starring in the movie, like Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, Warren Beatty, Audrey Hepburn, Chita Rivera, Marlon Brando, and Robert Redford. According to George Chakiris, due to the fact that these legends were rumored to be starring in the movie, a lot of stage actors didn't think they'd ever be cast. Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images, Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images Elvis' involvement in West Side Story as Tony is one of the oldest rumors attached to the iconic movie. According to West Side Story: The Jets, the Sharks, and the Making of a Classic, it's rumored that Colonel Tom Parker, his manager, turned down the role for Elvis, saying it was inappropriate for him to play a character who kills his girlfriend's brother.
According to NPR, Tony Perkins, Bobby Darin, Burt Reynolds, Richard Chamberlain, and Troy Donahue were also rumored to want to star in the movie. 2. When it came time to do chemistry reads for potential Tony, Maria, Anita, Riff, and Bernardo casting choices, six scenes were chosen to use. They were the bridal shop scene with Maria, Tony, and Anita, the fire escape scene with Tony and Maria, the apartment scene after the rumble with Maria and Chino, Tony and Riff at Doc's, Maria and Bernardo in the apartment, and Anita at Doc's. United Artists According to West Side Story: The Jets, the Sharks, and the Making of a Classic, some of the pairings for chemistry reads included Oscar nominee Susanna Kohner, Rita Moreno, and Scott Marlowe. Marlowe, who was a Tony contender, tested with Anna Maria Alberghetti, who was a possible Maria. Russ Tamblyn also read with Barbara Luna, who was a possible Anita. 3. Rita Moreno auditioned "many times" for Anita in West Side Story, where she completed singing and acting auditions to start, which she says went really well. The hardest part was when director Jerome Robbins said she would also have to do a dancing audition. She told The Hollywood Reporter in 2014, "I ran to the nearest dancing school and I literally signed up for every class, literally, that they had. I was truly killing myself, but I wanted that part so badly." United Artists Moreno also recalled to NPR, "I auditioned many times for the role of Anita with my heart in my throat because I hadn't danced in a hundred years, it seemed. And I never really, really thought I would get the part. But I got the part." 4. After Rita Moreno was officially offered the role, she almost turned it down once she realized the opening line in "America" she would have to sing. It originally called Puerto Rico an "ugly island" and an island of "tropic diseases." However, Stephen Sondheim immediately changed the verse after her casting. The line changed to, "Puerto Rico, my heart's devotion, let it sink back in the ocean." United Artists In an interview with NPR, Moreno recalled, "I was jubilant and thrilled because it's a wonderful part, as you know. And then, just before I signed my contract, I suddenly remembered, to my horror, that the verse to 'America' goes like ... And that's how Stephen Sondheim saved me from turning down this magnificent role." 5. Before being cast as Bernardo in the movie, George Chakiris played Riff in the West End production of West Side Story. Speaking to Fox News, Chakiris recalled studying for the role, saying, "I studied Ken LeRoy, the original Bernardo on stage, every night for a year and a half. So in a way, I was already learning and memorizing, which helped to make the role my own." United Artists / Everett Collection He added that he initially missed playing Riff because he "really loved the character," but once Bernardo "became something different that [he] had to do" he learned to love the role. 6. The last main role that was cast was Maria, with director Robert Wise initially insisting they find a relatively unknown actor. Casting for Maria was so difficult that they considered hiring someone who couldn't sing, and they could dub the singing parts. According to Wise, they eventually landed on Natalie Wood after they saw her while watching Warren Beatty's Splendor in the Grass screen test, where he was acting alongside Natalie. Wise abandoned the idea of an unknown actor for Wood, recalling, "The minute Natalie walked on, we forgot all about [Beatty] and [said], 'There's our Maria!'" United Artists / Everett Collection According to West Side Story: The Jets, the Sharks, and the Making of a Classic, Anna Maria Alberghetti, who was an Italian soprano, was "in the running for a long time," considering she would be able