Tom Berenger was cast as Butch Cassidy after the production had seen his performance in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). At the time, Berenger was living and working in New York. The production had to fly Berenger from New York to Hollywood so skeptical 20th Century Fox studio executives could see him first hand. Publicity for this picture stated: "But when they met him, it was all over. They fell in love with him".