Jack Nicholson and Robert Redford among studio picks for ‘The Godfather’ lead, says Al Pacino
nme.comAl Pacino has revealed that studio bosses wanted the likes of Jack Nicholson and Robert Redford to take the lead role in The Godfather ahead of him.The star said in an extract from his new book Sonny Boy (via The Guardian), which came out last week, that Paramount were not interested in him taking the role and the likes of Warren Beatty and Ryan O’Neal were also ahead of him on the list.“Paramount didn’t want me to play Michael Corleone.
They wanted Jack Nicholson. They wanted Robert Redford. They wanted Warren Beatty or Ryan O’Neal,” he said.Despite that he did get a screen test for the role and he was asked to fly out to the west coast, which he didn’t want to do.Pacino said: “I did not care that it was The Godfather.
I was a bit afraid of flying and I didn’t want to go to California. But my manager, Marty Bregman, said to me, ‘You’re getting on that fucking plane.’ He brought me a pint of whiskey so I could drink it on the flight, and I got there.”He went on to reveal that the studio rejected Francis Ford Coppola’s entire cast including Marlon Brando.“They rejected Jimmy Caan and Bob Duvall, who were great established actors, well on their way to what they would become.
They rejected Brando, for Christ’s sake,” Pacino explained.“It was quite clear walking into the studio that they didn’t want me either.
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