Sergio Leone's first comment on Henry Fonda: "But what do we do with this?"

Il Messaggero

By Fabio "Fabu" Alberti

2/25/2026

The relationship between Sergio Leone and Carlo Verdone was a relationship that went beyond the simple profession. The two invited each other home, with the former giving directing lessons to the latter, telling him in detail what he had in mind for his masterpiece Once Upon a Time in America.

Their partnership continued in the 80s, when Leone became the producer of Un sacco bello in 1980 as well as Bianco, rosso e Verdone in 1981. Classics of Italian comedy driven by masks that have become legends and have survived to the present day. During the years of dating, Verdone collected quite a few anecdotes shared by the iconic director of Spaghetti Westerns, as stated by the Roman comedian himself in a recent appearance at the Spazio Teratro of the European Institute of Design (IED).

One of Sergio Leone's dreams from the very beginning was to work together with Henry Fonda, the good cowboy of American western films. A dream that did not materialize until the end of the 60s when Leone, at his fourth spaghetti western after the successes of A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly had the opportunity to aspire to the top of the top with Once Upon a Time in the West. A film also recognized - at the time - for being the most ambitious western film ever made. And so, in the end, Leone knocked on Henry Fonda's door, but the first meeting between the director and the successful actor was not exactly exciting, as Verdone recalled.

"Perhaps this is his funniest anecdote - the comedian and actor told the Milan audience - he told me: 'When I chose Henry Fonda I was convinced that I had chosen the greatest actor who still held up. I was waiting for him at Cinecittà. Sergio Donati [the screenwriter of Once Upon a Time in the West] and I leaned against the window. The car was supposed to arrive from the airport, a blue car with Henry Fonda inside." A wait that was, however, disillusioned when the actor revealed himself.

"A little guy gets out of the car who walks like this," Verdone continued, imitating Fonda's walk. "A' Se', but what do we do with this?'", Leone's comment in the direction of the screenwriter. So Leone was stunned to see the aged appearance of an actor considered a legend and whom he admired very much, but who in reality - or rather, off the screen - appeared very different. Nevertheless, Fonda, as Frank, the antagonist of the film, proved to be an exceptional choice, and seeing him for the first time on the side of the villains shocked viewers.