Who was considered to play Don Corleone?

Paramount Didn't Want Marlon Brando Cast in 'The Godfather' The studio had a laundry list of potential Vito Corleones ranging from Laurence Olivier to Ernest Borgnine, but the audacious Coppola remained unwavering in his quest to secure the 47-year-old actor.
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Who was supposed to play Don Corleone?

Orson Welles - Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather (1972)

Welles was also the preferred choice of Paramount studios. Luckily, they eventually caved to Coppola's insistence that no one but Brando could do justice to the role.
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Who was first choice to play Sonny Corleone?

According to studio executive Robert Evans in his 1994 memoir The Kid Stays in the Picture, Caridi was director Francis Ford Coppola's first choice for the role of Sonny Corleone, but Evans insisted on James Caan because Caridi was too tall to play opposite Al Pacino.
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Who didn't want Al Pacino in The Godfather?

"The studio didn't want Al Pacino at all," Keaton said, noting that she was cast before him in the Francis Ford Coppola classic. She then explained what caused the studio to change their opinion: their chemistry read.
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Was Dustin Hoffman considered for The Godfather?

He was considered for the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972). As roommates, Hoffman and Gene Hackman would often go to the apartment rooftop and play the drums. Hoffman played the bongo drums while Hackman played the conga drums.
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Who is a Better Godfather? | Don Vito Corleone VS Don Michael Corleone

Who almost played Sonny in The Godfather?

Anthony Perkins not only auditioned for Sonny, but also for Tom Hagen. Originally Caan was to be cast as the main character Michael Corleone (Sonny's youngest brother), while Carmine Caridi was signed as Sonny. However Coppola demanded that the role of Michael be played by Al Pacino instead.
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Who was originally cast as Luca Brasi?

Lenny Montana(1926-1992)

Tall and solidly built, this Italian-American professional wrestler turned actor was born Lenny Passaforo in Brooklyn, New York, and is best remembered for his first on-screen role as the not too bright but ever loyal bodyguard Luca Brasi in.
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Why was Marlon Brando not wanted for The Godfather?

Paramount initially didn't want Marlon Brando in The Godfather due to his reputation for being difficult on set and recent box office flops, but Francis Ford Coppola fought for him.
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Did Frank Sinatra want to stop The Godfather movie?

The crooner publicly denied his connections to the Mafia to protect his public image, yet Sinatra did have social ties to organized crime, and The Offer depicts him leaning on Joe Columbo to put a stop to The Godfather movie's production.
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Why did Robert De Niro turn down The Godfather?

De Niro had previously auditioned for the first installment, The Godfather (1972), but quit the project in favor of doing The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. Coppola, having remembered him, gave De Niro a role in Part II instead.
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Who turned down the role of Johnny Fontane?

The popular singer was originally cast as the Sinatra-esque Johnny Fontane. He dropped out, attributing his pride in being Italian, though he would later state that it was all about the money.
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Did Sylvester Stallone audition for The Godfather?

Sylvester Stallone has become one of the biggest stars in the history of Hollywood, but even he couldn't get everything he wanted as he was rejected when he asked to be an extra in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather.
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Who turned down Forrest Gump role?

Initially, the film was offered to Bill Murray, John Travolta, and Chevy Chase. All three of them turned down the role and eventually, our true Gump came on the board. And the rest is history!
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Who was highest paid actor in Godfather?

Actually, Jack Nicholson turned down the role for Michael Corleone. Al was paid $35,000 for the role. Marlon Brando, Don Vito Corleone, was paid $250,000 plus a percent of the films gross which earned him an additional $2 million. Richard Castellano, Peter Clemenza, was paid the highest salary in the “Godfather” movie.
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What actors turned down Indiana Jones?

8 Actors Who Almost Played Indiana Jones
  • 8 Tim Matheson.
  • 7 Nick Nolte.
  • 6 Peter Coyote.
  • 5 Bill Murray.
  • 4 Chevy Chase.
  • 3 Steve Martin.
  • 2 Jack Nicholson.
  • 1 Tom Selleck.
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Did Dean Martin like The Godfather?

A staunch civil-rights advocate who refused to entertain in venues that discriminated against African Americans and Jews, Martin was fiercely proud of his Italian heritage. Indeed, he abhorred “The Godfather”: “I hated that movie, what it did to the Italian people. There was no call for that.”
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Who is Vito Corleone based on?

Vito Corleone is based on a composite of mid-20th-century New York Mafia figures Carlo Gambino, Frank Costello, Joe Bonanno, and Joe Profaci. The character's story begins as Vito Andolini in Corleone, Sicily, in the Kingdom of Italy.
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Why was The Godfather so controversial?

Paramount promoted The Godfather as the first Italian mob drama made by Italians, but some Italians were offended. Italian-Americans were continually portrayed as criminals in the movies and they were fed up.
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Why was Sylvester Stallone not in The Godfather?

Sylvester Stallone missed out on background role in The Godfather because the studio wasn't sure he was the right 'type of guy'
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Who refused best actor for Godfather?

Los Angeles, March 28: “The Godfather” was named the best film of 1972 and its star Marlon Brando, the best actor at the 45th annual Academy Awards presentations here last night — but Brando refused his Oscar.
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How much did Al Pacino get paid for The Godfather 3?

But Pacino wanted $7 million plus a percentage of the gross. Francis Ford Coppola refused. He threatened to rewrite the script by starting the story with Michael's funeral sequence instead of the film's introduction. Pacino agreed to the $5 million offer.
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Is Luca Brasi a real mobster?

Luca Brasi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather, as well as its 1972 film adaptation. In the film, he was portrayed by Lenny Montana, an ex-wrestler and former bodyguard and enforcer for the Colombo crime family.
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What is the horrifying origin story of Luca Brasi?

He also took part in the Olive Oil Wars, where he was in the room with six other hitmen and killed all of them in various bloody ways. Another one of his origin stories crosses over with real life. Brasi supposedly killed two of Al Capone's henchmen who were hired to assassinate Don Corleone.
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Why was Brasi killed?

He did not care who he angered, as long as he was feared, and he deliberately cultured such a fearsome reputation that even the top crime boss of New York, Giuseppe Mariposa, was afraid of directly retaliating against Brasi for buying his stolen alcohol shipments, to the point where Mariposa demanded that the Corleone ...
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