Robert De Niro’s Rejected Audition Tape As Sonny Corleone For The Godfather Leaves The Netizens Surprised, “Hard To Understand Why DeNiro Wasn’t Cast!” [Watch]
Robert De Niro auditioned for the 1972 film The Godfather and was surprisingly rejected. Watch his audition tape.
Robert De Niro’s Rejected Audition Tape As Sonny Corleone For The Godfather Left Fans Wondering Why Wasn’t He Cast? [Watch] (Picture Credit: IMDB)
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Robert De Niro is one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema. So it is quite hard to believe that he would have auditioned for something and did not land a role for the same. But this happened, and it happened quite early in his career. Director Francis Ford Coppola auditioned De Niro for James Caan’s part as Sonny Corleone.
The actor almost nailed it but lacked something which did not make him the perfect Don Sonny. He was rejected for the role after the audition. However, Coppola did not let go of such a great actor as he cast him later as a young Vito Corleone, who was played by Marlon Brando.
The audition clip is available on the internet on various platforms, with fans discussing why Robert De Niro was rejected as Sonny. A comment criticised his audition, saying, “This is a very good audition. The one thing that is missing is Sonny’s warmth, which I think is why they chose Jimmy Caan over DeNiro. Caan could be gentle and loving one minute, and violently explode the next. DeNiro’s Sonny just comes off like a ruthless gangster. Also, Caan brings a charisma to the Sonny character that I don’t think anyone else could’ve brought.”
However, interestingly while Robert De Niro was rejected for playing one part in the film, he later played another part and won the Oscars for the same. Another comment read, “The Godfather Part 2 would have suffered if anyone other than De Niro had played the young Vito. One thing that Caan captured that De Niro might not have captured was the weakness that came from the hot temper.”
A clip shared by Cinneman, on Instagram also had some wonderful reactions to the audition tape. A user wrote, “It’s hard to believe he EVER had to audition for ANYTHING.” Another user wrote, “It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Sonny, but it’s equally hard to understand why DeNiro wasn’t cast for part 1. He’s so good here.”
One more user wrote, “Think James Caan had that psycho feel to his portrayal… Could never have been a Don due to his temper.” Another comment said, “I think Johnny Boy from Mean Streets is probably his best performance after Taxi Driver.” A third user wrote, “The Godfather II is a perfect film. Mainly because of his & Al’s performance. Talk about hitting a grand slam before baseball was invented.”
You can watch the audition shared by a Youtube channel Pagantongue here.
For the unversed, The Godfather, is considered one of the greatest films in the history of Cinema. It was released in 1972 and as the film completed 50 years, last year, it was headed for a re-release. The franchise comprising three instalments, was helmed by Francis Ford Coppola. The first one had Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, while the remaining two were led by Al Pacino alone. The film series is a cult in the world of cinema.
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