Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, in “The Godfather”
Source: https://in.bookmyshow.com
The Godfather is believed by most to be one of the greatest movies of all time. Throughout the years, this classic has earned around $245–286 million (adjusted for inflation, it is equivalent to $713.3 million in 2019 dollars) in box office sales. However, unknown to most, the part of Michael Corleone was not supposed to go to Al Pacino. The studio (Paramount) wanted someone else to play the part, someone like Robert Redford or Ryan O’Neal. However, director Francis Ford Coppola wanted the then young and still unknown Al Pacino to portray the role of Michael Corleone. It was reported that the studio tried to fire Al Pacino several times. For varying reasons, from being too short, to not understanding his performance.
Fortunately, for Al Pacino and for the viewing public, Coppola insisted on keeping Al Pacino for the part. Without support from the famous director, Pacino might have opted to just not show up on the set. Pacino mentioned to the Washington Post, that he thought “Hey, look man, I don’t want to be where I’m not wanted.”
Of course, as we all now know, Al Pacino would prove to Paramount that director Francis Ford Coppola’s decision to pick him for the part was a wise choice.
