Diane Keaton Recalls How Studio 'Didn't Want Al Pacino at All' Before Casting Him in' The Godfather'
Well, according to a recent interview with Diane Keaton, she explained that after Pacino's audition, nobody wanted him to be in The Godfather. According to Keaton, “Nobody wanted Al Pacino. They didn't want him to play that part, and I had already been cast.”
Jack Nicholson - Micheal Corleone, The Godfather (1972)
Paramount was set on a star like Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, or Jack Nicholson, with Nicholson even getting an offer for the part. However, Nicholson turned down the role.
Perhaps it's not that hard to imagine Ernest Borgnine, pictured here in 1957, as Don Corleone in The Godfather. Other names floating around to play the Godfather ranged from Charles Bronson to Burt Lancaster to Orson Welles, who tried to convince Mario Puzo he was perfect for the role.
Luca Brasi is Don Vito Corleone's personal enforcer, and the only man Vito himself fears. While slow-witted and brutish, Brasi is fiercely loyal and has a reputation as a savage and remorseless killer.
In The Godfather II, Vito Corleone chooses his younger son, Michael, instead of his older son, Fredo, as his successor. This decision is based on Michael's intelligence and ability. Fredo, who is considered weak, is dismissed to do more menial tasks for the family.
Producer Robert Evans referred to Pacino as “that little dwarf.” He told Coppola “a runt will not play Michael.” Evans was concerned that Pacino's short stature would be a problem since Sonny Corleone was originally to be played by six foot four actor Carmine Caridi.
Of course, it is at this moment that Michael realizes it was Fredo who betrayed him to Hyman Roth, as in the previous scene Fredo pretended to have just met Johnny. However, there is much more going on in this exchange than simply calling back to Fredo's response to Johnny in the previous scene.
At the Long Beach Causeway toll plaza, Barzini's men trap Sonny and shoot him multiple to death. During a meeting with the other crime family dons to establish peace, Vito realizes that Barzini masterminded Sonny's murder.
Biography. A distinguished character actor, Richard S. Castellano was the highest earning actor in The Godfather, whose fame outside the saga included playing Joe Girelli in The Super. He also received an Academy Award nomination for his role in Love and Other Strangers.
Controversy surrounded the film from the beginning: Soon after Paramount Pictures announced its production, the Italian-American Civil Rights League held a rally in Madison Square Garden, claiming the film would amount to a slur against Italian Americans.
Remember that Barzini is a very shrewd and crafty don; he's able to turn Carlo against the family he married into and betray Sonny. Barzini likely had dozens of his own men doing spy-like work to monitor Sonny's habits: when he would leave the Corleone compound, where he'd go, who he would meet with.
De Niro auditioned for the character of Sonny Corleone in the first The Goodfather film in 1972 and after a difficult decision, Francis Ford Coppola preferred Caan, who died Thursday at the age of 82. Caan took the character to another level and is still remembered for his performance 50 years later.
In a fit of pique, Carlo sought revenge by making a deal with the Corleones' rival Emilio Barzini to kill Sonny, which would break the stalemate of the Five Families War and possibly allow the other crime families to negotiate a deal to sell narcotics in Corleone territory.
While in Havana negotiating with Roth, Michael discovers that Fredo is the family traitor behind the assassination attempt on him. After telling Michael that he has never met Ola, Fredo later carelessly tells Geary that he had been to a nightclub with Ola.
Paulie has seemingly betrayed Vito—and thus the family—by selling him out. In The Godfather, this kind of betrayal is the worst of all sins. We see the matter discussed, in the Corleone family office, just before the viewer spends time in front of Clemenza's cozy abode.
Roth secretly plans to assassinate Michael, partly to avenge Moe Greene's murder (as depicted in The Godfather).
In short, yes, Al Ruddy was fired, but not as dramatically as The Offer depicts it. He was fired for appearing in a photo with Joe Colombo on the front page of The New York Times, but it was before production on The Godfather began. A publicly traded company like Gulf and Western cannot be associated with the mafia.
Hollywood legend Al Pacino opened up about turning down the role of Han Solo in 'Star Wars' because he "didn't understand the script" and said that he "gave Harrison Ford a career."
Pacino not only saved his role in The Godfather, he would go on to get an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, which was one of 11 the film received.
Unlike his two older brothers, Michael wants nothing to do with the Corleone "family business", wanting instead to lead a more Americanized life. Vito does not want Michael to join the Corleone criminal empire either, hoping that his favorite son would go into politics.
Michael Corleone - 'The Godfather: Part II' (1974)
While Michael was seen as one of the more levelheaded members of the family, the sequel (and the third film) portray his downfall as he becomes a ruthless killer and crime lord.
Of course he was a sociopath. He ran a major crime family, and a well-adjusted person with no mental nor emotional issues wouldn't be able to do that.
According to Russo, Caan actually fought him during filming, causing some injuries. Caan, on the other hand, has denied this, but did admit to improvising one part of the fight scene. Read on to see what both actors have had to say about the dustup.
A notable Italian American actor, Caridi was considered by Francis Ford Coppola for the role of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, but lost out to James Caan.