 Casting scouts searched around New York City and Long Island for a  teenager to play the role of Calogero. A scout noticed  Lillo Brancato (qv) on Jones Beach. For most of his childhood,  Brancato had done impersonations of Robert De Niro (qv) and was  often told that he resembled De Niro. When he performed an  impersonation for the scout, she immediately cast him.