Treat Williams Was Scared He Was Actually Going To Catch Fire Filming Once Upon A Time In America

Sergio Leone’s staggering direction along with Ennio Morricone’s pulsing score already put “Once Upon a Time in America” in the pantheon of gangster films. Although the original studio edit of the film was a disappointment when it was first released by Warner Bros. in 1984, the restored “European” cut is repeatedly listed as one of the greatest films ever made. Every great crime saga needs a torture scene, a task that was left to Williams to provide. In a joyous interview for People, Williams told the story of how he almost thought Leone’s masterpiece might wind up being his last film if things went sideways. He said: 

“In one scene, Richie Bright is the actor and he sprays me with gasoline. I’m tied in a bin in a horrible place and then he starts asking me questions and he’s lighting matches. But what I didn’t realize was and I said, ‘Why don’t you put seltzer water in it so I get an uncomfortable feeling when it goes on my face and up my nose. But then I realized that the hose that they were using had recently held a lot of gasoline. I got very nervous and Richie was lighting the matches because I thought there’s so much gas in this stuff that this thing could light up. So I was like, ‘Don’t throw the matches on me just in case!'”

It’s no wonder why Williams remembers that day so vividly. Luckily, he would go on to appear in more than 100 films and television shows, but the prolific actor always held “Once Upon A Time in America” in the highest regard. “It’s funny because people say ‘What are your favorite films?’ and although I play a small role in it, it’s always one of the top three I mention of films that I’m proud to be a part of,” he said.

He will be greatly missed.