“They wanted to fire me when I was on the picture … [during] the shooting, first couple of weeks. Because they kept seeing the rushes, you know, or the footage that was shot, and they kept looking at it and thinking, 'What is he doing?'” Pacino had told the media outlet at the time.
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'.”
Robert De Niro originally was given the part of Paulie Gatto. A spot in The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight opened up after Al Pacino quit the project in favor of The Godfather, which led De Niro to audition for the role and leave The Godfather after receiving the part.
But 'The Godfather' gave me a new identity that was hard for me to cope with.” Pacino added, “It's a piece of work that I was so fortunate to be in. But it's taken me a lifetime to accept it and move on. It's not like I played Superman.”
Al Pacino was unable to reprise his famous Michael Corleone character, because he had already signed a likeness agreement with another gaming company for Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006). As a result, EA/Paramount cannot use his voice or likeness for the game.
Diane Keaton Interview "They Wanted to Fire Al Pacino from The Godfather"
Did Al Pacino want to do Godfather 3?
Al Pacino was offered $5 million to reprise his role as Michael. 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.
Why did Pacino almost get fired from The Godfather?
Coppola had been feeling the pressure from above at the time and was frustrated with Pacino's approach. “I wanted to come out of nowhere and by the end of the film create some kind of enigma,” Pacino explained of his approach. “His transition is what interested me, and I thought I was unable to save it.”
How much did Al Pacino get paid for The Godfather?
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.
Did Robert De Niro really speak Italian in The Godfather?
Robert De Niro spent four months learning to speak the Sicilian dialect of Italian in order to play Vito Corleone. Nearly all of the dialogue that his character speaks in the film was in Sicilian. Originally, the actors in the flashback scenes wore pants with zippers.
Accused of glamorising crime and the Mafia before it was even released, it went on to be seen by many as the definitive gangster film. But not by its director.
What actor turned down the role of Michael Corleone?
Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson both turned down the role of Michael. There were many actors considered for role of Michael. Robert Redford…he was too WASPish, Martin Sheen who actually auditioned for the role.
Hard as it may be to believe, Brando was not the first choice to play Don Vito Corleone. The British legend Sir Laurence Olivier was the first actor to be offered the role. Sir Laurence pleaded date issues.
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.
While his character may have spoken Italian on screen, Pacino himself did not speak fluent Italian during those iconic scenes [2]. Instead, he skillfully delivered his lines in the Sicilian dialect, adding a layer of authenticity and depth to the character [2].
Enraged, Sonny speeds towards Connie's apartment in Hell's Kitchen ahead of his bodyguards. At the Long Beach Causeway toll plaza, Barzini's men trap Sonny and shoot him to death. During a meeting with the other crime family dons to establish peace, Vito realizes that Barzini masterminded Sonny's murder.
Damone eventually declined the role because of a salary dispute and also because he did not want to provoke the mob or anger Frank Sinatra, whom Damone profoundly respected. Ultimately, the part of Johnny Fontane was given to Martino.
[close] John "Johnny" Fontane is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather" and the series of films based upon it. In Francis Ford Coppola's film adaptation of the novel, he was portrayed by Al Martino. Johnny Fontane is a singer and actor. The character is believed to have been based on Frank Sinatra.
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.
Nicholson turned down The Godfather due to personal preferences, opting for projects he found more intriguing and personal. He believed Chinatown and The Last Detail had stronger scripts than The Godfather and The Sting.
Several actors from the first film did not return for the sequel. Marlon Brando initially agreed to return for the birthday flashback sequence, but the actor, feeling mistreated by the board at Paramount, failed to show up for the single day's shooting. Coppola then rewrote the scene that same day.
Al and Robert met for the first time in Manhattan through mutual friends more than 50 years ago. Their acting careers were just getting into full swing at the time but there was a special bond that formed between them right away.
He was regarded as toxic, washed up, and, according to producer Robert Evans, "as dead as could be." For his part, Brando wasn't even interested in the role at first. He originally dismissed it saying, "I'm not a Mafia Godfather ... I'm not going to glorify the Mafia."
The 'Rocky' star revealed that he asked Paramount if he could be in the background of the iconic wedding scene in Francis Ford Coppola's classic 1972 crime film but was snubbed because he wasn't "the type of guy". Sly told Empire magazine: "I went to Paramount, and said, 'Can I be an extra in the wedding scene?'
