Rudolf Nureyev

 Russian dancer turned actor Rudolf Nureyev underwent extensive dialect and dialogue coaching to portray Italian silent film legendary actor Rudolph Valentino in the 1977 biopic about him. Director Ken Russell said of the casting of Nureyev to play silent screen legend Rudolph Valentino in this film: "I could have picked up any Italian waiter in London and made him look like Valentino, but where would the magic be for the public in that?"

Nureyev once said of his casting: "I asked how long it would take, and he [Russell] said sixteen weeks. I was worried that would mean four months away from dancing. Finally, I said yes, but I was still worried. I said to myself, 'What am I doing to my career? What am I doing to my dancing?' Dancing is everything to me, it is my religion. If this film works, there may be others, but only dancing matters to me." Time and facilities during principal photography were made available to Nureyev so he could continue practicing his ballet dancing for around three hours per day.

Romantic lead co-stars Nureyev and Michelle Phillips got along so poorly during the making of this film that they were reported to have engaged in an on-set slapping match during shooting of the love scenes. Nureyev, who esteemed the discipline required of dance, felt that Phillips's "relaxed and free-wheeling approach" to acting was too unrestrained. After filming was completed, Nureyev openly admitted, "I found it difficult to adjust to playing opposite her."