Around 6–8 months were spent searching for an actor to portray Alex Murphy/Robocop. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Ironside, Rutger Hauer, Tom Berenger, Armand Assante, Keith Carradine, and James Remar were considered. Orion favored Schwarzengger, the star of their recent success, "The Terminator" (1984); but he and other actors were considered too physically imposing to be believable in the RoboCop costume. It was thought that Schwarzenegger would look like the Michelin Man or Pillsbury Doughboy. Others were reluctant because their face would be largely concealed by a helmet. Davison said that Weller was the only person who wanted to be in the film. His casting was also favoured because he commanded a low salary and had an existing fan base in the science fiction genre, following his performance in "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" (1984). He also possessed good body control from martial arts training and marathon running, and Verhoeven said "that his chin was very good." Weller spent months working with mime Moni Yakim, developing a liquid-movement style, with a stiff staccato ending, while wearing an American football uniform to approximate the finished costume. Weller said working with Verhoeven was his main reason for choosing the role over appearing in "King Kong Lives" (1986).