Only then (when reading this) did I realise of how this applies to pretty much all US movies dealing with similar subjects as well.
It isn't universal, but it's sufficiently observed at least with patrician characters that Ben-Hur (1959) and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) stand out for their cross-national casting. Alas, in only one of these movies can Stephen Boyd actually act.
Spartacus the tv series I think mixes and mingles - i.e. you have Brits, Americans, New Zealanders all both as Romans and slaves - though Spartacus himself in both incarnations speaks American.
I haven't seen the series, but that is interesting, since to my knowledge neither lead actor was American.
I hadn't encountered the anecdote about Douglas and Simmons, but it fits.
no subject
It isn't universal, but it's sufficiently observed at least with patrician characters that Ben-Hur (1959) and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) stand out for their cross-national casting. Alas, in only one of these movies can Stephen Boyd actually act.
Spartacus the tv series I think mixes and mingles - i.e. you have Brits, Americans, New Zealanders all both as Romans and slaves - though Spartacus himself in both incarnations speaks American.
I haven't seen the series, but that is interesting, since to my knowledge neither lead actor was American.
I hadn't encountered the anecdote about Douglas and Simmons, but it fits.