Frank Langella had to fight for his role of former U.S. President Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon because studio bosses wanted to give the role to screen legend Warren Beatty.

Langella had played the role onstage in London and New York in its original stage run, but when producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer decided to adapt it for the big screen, they knew they would have difficulty convincing executives Langella should keep the role.

Howard said, “I knew Michael Sheen would be great as Frost, and the studio was happy with that. But there was this conversation about the Nixon character.”

He confirms rumors that Beatty was considered for the part by saying, “They were very interested in that possibility.”

Frost/Nixon is about Nixon’s infamous encounter with British television interviewer David Frost after the Watergate scandal.

The actors were not the only people at jeopardy for a role in the film. Directors such as Martin Scorsese, George Clooney, Mike Nichols and Bennett Miller were considered before Ron Howard was officially selected.

The film, written by Peter Morgan, who also wrote the play, and co-starring Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon and Patty McCormack, is due to hit theaters December 5th, 2008.