A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : WHO TO CALL? : Today’s Cast: Stone, Streisand, Levinson

“If you cast wrong, it’s not an easy day,” admitted director Barry Levinson, who with Oliver Stone and Barbra Streisand addressed a recent Directors Guild of America seminar. During the course of the 2 1/2-hour discussion, they shared, among other tidbits, some of the agonizing that went into casting Oscar nominees “Bugsy,” “JFK” and “Prince of Tides.”

Levinson said he was “amazed” at the number of people who turned down various roles in “Bugsy.” The part of gangster Meyer Lansky, in fact--for which Ben Kingsley received a best supporting actor Oscar nomination--wasn’t filled until a week before the shoot.

“I knew that Kingsley was a brilliant actor,” Levinson recalls. “But could this guy . . . Gandhi . . . play a New York Jew? It took a leap of faith to believe he could deliver the accent and the character. I wanted him to read for the part, but he was the one who suggested it. Other actors of his stature wouldn’t have put themselves on the line, but he understood my dilemma. That reflected tremendous confidence in himself as an actor.”

Oliver Stone recounted, quasi-tongue-in-cheek, the difficulty of finding a 6-foot-7 actor to play Jim Garrison, the former New Orleans district attorney on whose investigations “JFK” was based. Since he couldn’t cast according to physical type, the director said, he went with his gut. Kevin Costner was his choice.

“I like his small ears--don’t you love those small ears?” Stone queried, flashing a gap-toothed grin. “I needed someone to anchor the movie, and you can watch Kevin for three hours. People think he has integrity and honesty--because he does.”

Barbra Streisand didn’t hesitate when asked if she always thought of herself playing Susan Lowenstein, the female lead in “Prince of Tides.”

“Yes,” she shot back. “Who else could I get to play a New York Jewish psychologist?” (Stone pointed to Levinson, who as it happens, played a therapist in his own movie “Rain Man.”)

“Anyhow,” Streisand continued when the laughs subsided, “I couldn’t have gotten the picture made if I wasn’t in it. I certainly wouldn’t have gotten to direct.”

Nick Nolte’s name popped into her head after Robert Redford, who had initially intended to play the role, backed out in favor of “Havana.” “I ran every one of Nick’s films and realized he hadn’t done any love scenes since ‘Rich Man, Poor Man.’ He sees himself as a character actor rather than a romantic lead and obviously wasn’t comfortable with sexuality. Still, I saw a certain pain behind his eyes and almost a mistrust of women . . . which was essential.

“I thought he’d be terrific,” Streisand said of the best actor nominee. “But one studio actually turned us down on account of Nick.”