Beatty initially wanted Muhammad Ali to play the central character, but because of Ali's continued commitment to boxing, Beatty changed the character from a boxer to an American football player and played it himself.
Beatty je u početku želio da naslovnu ulogu igra Muhammad Ali, ali zbog njegove učestale obveze prema boksu, Beatty je promijenio glavni lik iz boksača u igrača američkog nogometa i odlučio ga sam glumiti.