Will Kane Cooper (see below), "Cooper was not producer Stanley Kramer's first choice to play Marshal Will Kane." Nevertheless, Will Kane is "one of Cooper's most famous roles." Lee Majors explained that he accepted the role in the sequel, because "I've always admired Gary Cooper. And I wanted to do a Western again." Ron Hardy, who directed the recent remake, argued that Tom Skerrit was an ideal actor to take over the role in the remake. Hardy explained that like "Cooper, he is Mr. Everyday. People know who Tom Skerritt is. They don't treat him like a superstar. They feel he's approachable."
Otto Kruger the supporting role of Judge Percy Mettrick, who unsuccessfully urges Will Kane to leave town in "High Noon" (1952). Kruger is also remembered for playing the villain Tobin in Alfred Hitchcock's spy film "Saboteur" (1942) and mob boss Stevens in the film noir "711 Ocean Drive" (1950). His television roles included those of Dr. Mumford in the 1959 episode "Experiments in Terror" of the NBC science fiction/adventure series "The Man and the Challenge", as Ben Tully in "Gun City" of the ABC western series, "The Rebel", and as Franklyn Malleson Ghentin in the 1961 episode "A Fool for a Client"