 Christian Bale (qv) was picked for the role of Jim out of more  than 4,000 auditions. Spielberg had seen Bale in the miniseries  "Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna", and Amy Irving (qv), who starred  in it, personally recommended Bale to her husband. Spielberg had not  thought much of Bale in “Anastasia”, but upon Bale auditioning, cast  him for the role of Jim.