Editing Chariots of Fire (section)

=== Casting ===
Director Hugh Hudson was determined to cast young, unknown actors in all the major roles of the film, and to back them up by using veterans like [[John Gielgud]], [[Lindsay Anderson]], and [[Ian Holm]] as their supporting cast. Hudson and producer David Puttnam did months of fruitless searching for the perfect actor to play Eric Liddell. They then saw Scottish stage actor [[Ian Charleson]] performing the role of Pierre in the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]]'s production of ''[[Piaf (play)|Piaf]]'', and knew immediately they had found their man. Unbeknownst to them, Charleson had heard about the film from his father, and desperately wanted to play the part, feeling it would "fit like a kid glove".<ref>Ian McKellen, Hugh Hudson, Alan Bates, et al. ''For Ian Charleson: A Tribute''. London: Constable and Company, 1990. pp. xix, 9, 76.</ref>

[[Ben Cross]], who plays Harold Abrahams, was discovered while playing Billy Flynn in ''[[Chicago (musical)|Chicago]]''. In addition to having a natural pugnaciousness, he had the desired ability to sing and play the piano.<ref name=hudson /><ref>[http://www.bencross.net/biography.html Ben Cross – Bio on Official site] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022043111/http://www.bencross.net/biography.html |date=22 October 2009}}</ref> Cross was thrilled to be cast, and said he was moved to tears by the film's script.<ref name=wings>''Wings on Their Heels: The Making of'' Chariots of Fire. (2005 video; featurette on 2005 DVD).</ref>

[[20th Century-Fox]], which put up half of the production budget in exchange for distribution rights outside of North America,{{sfn|Chapman|2005| pp= 273–274}} insisted on having a couple of notable American names in the cast.<ref name=reunion /> Thus the small parts of the two American champion runners, Jackson Scholz and Charley Paddock, were cast with recent headliners: [[Brad Davis (actor)|Brad Davis]] had recently starred in ''[[Midnight Express (film)|Midnight Express]]'' (also produced by Puttnam), and [[Dennis Christopher]] had recently starred, as a young bicycle racer, in the popular indie film ''[[Breaking Away]]''.<ref name=wings />

All of the actors portraying runners underwent an intensive three-month training regimen with renowned running coach Tom McNab. This training and isolation of the actors also created a strong bond and sense of camaraderie among them.<ref name=wings />