 While filming _Vertigo (1958)_ (qv), Alfred Hitchcock (I) (qv)  described some of the plot of this project to frequent Hitchcock  leading man and "Vertigo" star James Stewart (I) (qv), who  naturally assumed that Hitchcock meant to cast him in the Roger  Thornhill role, and was eager to play it. Actually, Hitchcock wanted  Cary Grant (qv) to play the role. By the time Hitchcock realized  the misunderstanding, Stewart was so anxious to play Thornhill that  rejecting him would have caused a great deal of disappointment. So  Hitchcock delayed production on this film until Stewart was already  safely committed to filming Otto Preminger (qv)s  _Anatomy of a Murder (1959)_ (qv) before "officially" offering him  the "North by Northwest" role. Stewart had no choice; he had to turn  down the offer, allowing Hitchcock to cast Grant, the actor he had  wanted all along.