Before they were big: casting young Scarlett Johansson, Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke and more

Who cast Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Penn, Alec Baldwin, Tim Robbins, Ralph Fiennes, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Halle Berry in their early career-making films? Legendary casting director Bonnie Timmermann.

 She talks with Elle magazine about casting some of today's biggest stars back when they were fresh-faced newcomers. 

Here's her memory about casting a young Mickey Rourke in "The Pope of Greenwich Village" in 1984:

Here's the kind of human being he is: I had spoken to Mickey just after my father Joe had died unexpectedly. He knew my father was a boxer. Very soon, an iridescent shopping bag -- really flamboyant -- arrived. Inside was a boxing glove that every major boxer had signed for Mickey, from Spinks to Ali to Foreman. And he'd written on it: "To Bonnie, Joe loves you, he's watching out for his little girl. Don't worry -- everything will be okay. Love, Mickey." The glove must have been one of his prized possessions, and I just started to weep.

 After seeing Scarlett Johansson  in "The Horse Whisperer," Timmermann cast her in "An American Rhapsody" in 1992.

There was a rawness about Scarlett that I loved, but I didn't think it would come out in an audition so I told the director, "Just talk, fall in love, and give her the part." She did.

For Scarlett's hottest Hollywood hairstyles, click here.

She also tried cast the new 2010 Oscar co-host Alec Baldwin in "The Last of the Mohicans " but he turned it down.  The role went to Daniel Day Lewis. 

Watch Alec Baldwin host the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards!

She recalls: "When I first met him he was so hard to reach, quite standoffish. He was initially intimidating. And incredibly handsome. He was very sure of himself. He knew that he had a lot to offer."

She did cast him in "Glengarry Glen Ross."  "In this incredible ensemble, he was a real standout. He was only on the screen for seven minutes and he's the one people remember from the film."

For more amazing Bonnie casting memories, click here

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Photo: Bonnie Timmerman at left. Above, Scarlett Johansson. Below, Alec Baldwin. Credit: Elle