Belloq was intended to be a sophisticated villain to counter the "beer-drinking" hero. Spielberg cast Freeman after seeing him in the docudrama "Death of a Princess" (1980); Freeman's piercing eyes had captivated him. French Singer Jacques Dutronc and Giancarlo Giannini were also considered. Danny DeVito was approached to portray Sallah, described as a skinny, tall Egyptian like Gunga Din in "Gunga Din" (1939). DeVito could not participate because of scheduling conflicts with his sitcom "Taxi" and because his agent wanted too much money. Rhys-Davies was cast based on his performance in the 1980 miniseries "Shōgun". Spielberg asked him to play the character as a mix of his "Shōgun" role and the character John Falstaff. Ronald Lacey was cast as Toht because he reminded Spielberg of the late-actor Peter Lorre. Klaus Kinski was offered the role but chose to appear in the horror film "Venom" (1981) because the pay was better.