It’s been over 50 years since the legendary The Godfather released and revolutionized the cinema. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based on Mario Puzo’s novel, The Godfather is a masterpiece that tells the gripping story of the Corleone crime family. At the heart of this saga is Al Pacino, whose portrayal of Michael Corleone transformed him into a cinematic legend. While The Godfather movies cemented Pacino’s legacy, surprisingly, the actor recently revealed that he was almost fired a week before the filming began.
Al Pacino Was Almost Fired From The Godfather
In Al Pacino‘s new memoir, Sonny Boy, the actor admitted that Coppola nearly fired him from The Godfather. In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, he recalled that Coppola told him about “a week and a half” into shooting, “You know how much you mean to me, how much faith I had in you. Well, you’re not delivering.”
Pacino continued, “I felt that one in the pit of my stomach. It’s when it finally hit me that my job was on the line. I said to Francis, ‘What do we do here?'” Pacino explained that the director shared his frustration with his performance and asked him to review the “rushes” of his work, that it isn’t up to the mark, and that he’s “not working.” The Scarface actor also admitted that Paramount did not want him to play the iconic role of Michael Corleone. Instead, they wanted Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, and Ryan O’Neal.
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The 84-year-old further shared, “It was impossible for the impact of the role to come through. My interpretation of Michael was like planting a garden; it would take a certain amount of time in the story for the flowers to grow… Back in Hollywood, Paramount started to look at the film that Francis had shot, and they were once again questioning whether I was the right actor for the part. I thought to myself, ‘I don’t think there’s anything spectacular here.'”
Did Al Pacino’s Got a Role In The Godfather?
The Godfather is one of cinema’s most iconic films. However, it could have gone better than its box office success. The production of The Godfather was full of challenges, especially regarding Al Pacino’s casting. While Coppola was adamant about casting Pacino, Paramount executives thought Pacino was too short and preferred someone like James Caan.
But Coppola fought hard, and eventually, Caan was cast as Sonny Corleone, while Pacino secured the role of Michael.
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