Editing Once Upon a Time in America (section)

=== Casting ===
In 1981, at Milchan's suggestion, Leone met [[Robert De Niro]] and eventually offered him the role of his choice between Noodles and Max.{{sfn|Frayling|2012|pages=437-9}} De Niro's commitment turned out to be crucial for Milchan's securing the financial backing for the film.{{sfn|Frayling|2012|page=437}}

For the role of Max, approximately 200 actors were auditioned.{{sfn|Frayling|2012|page=441}} [[Elizabeth McGovern]] was chosen for the role of Deborah despite De Niro's request for having a New York native with a [[Brooklyn]] accent, due to Leone's appreciation of her performance in ''[[Ragtime (film)|Ragtime]]''.{{sfn|Frayling|2012|page=441}}

[[Joe Pesci]] was chosen by Arnon Milchan because of his role in ''[[Raging Bull]]'', and was offered a supporting role of his choice.{{sfn|Frayling|2012|page=441}} At De Niro's recommendation, [[Tuesday Weld]] was cast as Carol, a role that Leone had previously envisioned for [[Claudia Cardinale]].{{sfn|Frayling|2012|pages=441-2}}

For the children's roles, Leone entrusted the task to [[Cis Corman]], asking him not to have child stars, but instead having actors who had lived in New York's Jewish neighborhood and had no previous acting experience. In the end, Corman provided mostly actors without film credits but with experiences on stage and television.{{sfn|Frayling|2012|page=445}}