Evans pushed for Carlo Ponti or Ernest Borgnine to receive the part. Bluhdorn proposed Charles Bronson for the role. Others considered were George C. Scott, Richard Conte, Anthony Quinn and Orson Welles. Welles was Paramount's preferred choice for the role.
Who was originally offered the role of The Godfather and who ended up playing the role? Francis Ford Coppola was constantly at odds with the studio. They wanted a top actor for the role of Michael, like Robert Redford or Burt Reynolds-he pushed for and got a relatively unknown guy named Al Pacino.
Anne Bancroft refused Francis Ford Coppola's offer to star as the Corleone family matriarch. Warren Beatty was considered to play the part of Michael Corleone. Karen Black auditioned for the female lead role. Robert Blake was reportedly turned down for a role in The Godfather.
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.
Who was the first choice to play Michael in The Godfather?
However, since Pacino wasn't Coppola's first option for the role, things could've followed a different course. The part of Michael Corleone was first offered to Dustin Hoffman, who turned it down due to his involvement in Bob Fosse's Lenny.
Why ‘The Godfather' is the GREATEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME
Who was being groomed to take over for The Godfather?
Tom Hagen is not related to the family by blood but is considered one of the Don's sons because he was homeless when he befriended Sonny in the Little Italy neighborhood of Manhattan. Now a talented attorney, Tom is being groomed for the important position of Consigliere (counselor) to the Don.
Diane Keaton said she was cast before Al Pacino in the 1972 classic gangster flick "The Godfather." The actress said Pacino was not the first choice to star as Michael Corleone in the Francis Ford Coppola film. "Nobody wanted Al Pacino.
Why was James Caan cast as Sonny in The Godfather even though he isn't Italian? Originally Caan was to be cast as the main character Michael Corleone, while Carmine Caridi was signed as Sonny. However, Coppola demanded that the role of Michael be played by Al Pacino instead.
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.
Sofia Coppola, the daughter of director Francis Ford Coppola, was cast in the role of Mary Corleone after several choices dropped out: Winona Ryder discontinued her involvement with the film due to nervous exhaustion, Julia Roberts due to scheduling conflicts, and Madonna was deemed too old for the part by some.
The primary reason why Jack Nicholson turned down the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather was that the presently retired Nicholson, who identified himself as being Irish throughout his career, felt that the role of the Italian-American Michael should be played by an Italian actor.
And the person who was paid the highest and played one key character ended up getting fired from the franchise when the turn for The Godfather 2 came. This actor was none other than Richard Castellano, who was riding high waves of fame during the time of the first installment of the franchise.
Emilio "The Wolf" Barzini is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and in its 1972 film adaptation, in which he is portrayed by Richard Conte. The Barzini crime family was inspired by the Genovese crime family.
Was Al Pacino the first choice to play Michael Corleone?
As well as Marlon Brando, Al Pacino is synonymous with 'The Godfather', but the actor wasn't Paramount's first choice for Michael Corleone. The likes of Robert Redford and Ryan O'Neal were in the running for the role, while Martin Sheen and James Caan (who went on to play Sonny Corleone) screen-tested for the part.
Posting a portion of Al Pacino's audition tape for the role of Michael Corleone to his Instagram account, the director stated: “The interesting thing here, was a reason given to me against casting Pacino was not only was he too short, but also too 'scruffy'.”
Was Jack Nicholson supposed to be in The Godfather?
He read The Godfather script and knew that the film would be a hit, based on the quality of Mario Puzo's novel alone. But even with this enthusiasm for the project, Nicholson turned down the role of Michael Corleone.
Robert Redford: Redford was initially on the shortlist for the role of Michael Corleone but did not ultimately take the part [2]. Ryan O'Neal: O'Neal was also considered for the role of Michael Corleone but did not end up being cast [3].
Just like the Corleone family in The Godfather film series, the Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" of New York City's organized crime. Carlo Gambino was the leader of this crime family, and his backstory is similar to the one given to Vito.
Concept and Creation. Vito Corleone is based on a composite of mid-20th-century New York Mafia figures Carlo Gambino, Frank Costello, Joe Bonanno, and Joe Profaci. Mario told me that all of the great dialogue, those quotable lines he put into the mouth of Don Corleone, were actually spoken by Mario's mother.
He is also mentioned many times throughout the film; the dialogue makes it clear that Michael is tormented with guilt over ordering his brother's death, and that it has alienated him from his ex-wife, Kay (Diane Keaton), and his son, Anthony (Franc D'Ambrosio), both of whom know the truth about Fredo's death.
Talia Rose Shire (née Coppola; born April 25, 1946) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Connie Corleone in The Godfather trilogy and Adrianna Pennino Balboa in the Rocky series.
From 1982 to 1987, Caan suffered from depression over his sister's death from leukemia, a growing problem with cocaine, and what he described as "Hollywood burnout" and did not act in any films. In a 1992 interview, Caan said that this was a time when "a lot of mediocrity was produced.
Did Al Pacino and Diane Keaton get along in Godfather?
Pacino and Keaton met on the set of The Godfather in 1971, where Pacino scored his career-making role as Michael Corleone. Keaton instantly crushed on her costar. “I was mad for him. Charming, hilarious, a nonstop talker,” she told PEOPLE in 2017.
Al Pacino was 31 when he played Michael Corleone in The Godfather, but the character was only 25. In The Godfather Part III, Pacino was 49 while the character, Michael Corleone, was 59 years old.
For his breakout role as Michael Corleone in 1972's The Godfather, Al Pacino was reportedly paid $35,000. This relatively small salary was due to him being a relative unknown at the time he was cast, though the fact that the movie launched his career most likely more than made up for the lack of upfront payment.
