Al Pacino recalls how he “didn’t get fired” from The Godfather

Although Al Pacino will always be synonymous with his groundbreaking performance The Godfather (1972), Francis Ford Coppola's acclaimed mafia drama almost replaced it.

In his new memoirs Sonny Boyout now, the Oscar winner recalled how Paramount “wondered if I was the right actor” to play Michael Corleone in the film adaptation of Mario Puzo's book, and how he ultimately proved himself.

“Paramount didn’t want me to play Michael Corleone,” he wrote in an excerpt he shared The Guardian. “They wanted Jack Nicholson. They wanted Robert Redford. They wanted Warren Beatty or Ryan O'Neal. In the book, Puzo Michael called himself “the wimp of the Corleone family.” He should be short, dark-haired, handsome in a delicate way, and pose no visible threat to anyone. That didn't sound like the people the studio wanted. But that didn't mean it had to be me.

“However, it meant that I had to do a screen test for the role, which I had never done before, and that I had to fly to the West Coast for it, which I just didn't want to do.” I didn't care about that it was “The Godfather.” I was a bit afraid of flying and didn't want to go to California. “But my manager, Marty Bregman, said to me, ‘You’re getting on this damn plane.’ He brought me a pint of whiskey to drink on the flight and I got there,” Pacino added.

Although Pacino admittedly thought Coppola had “gone too far” in advocating for him, the actor recalled the “uncomfortable feeling” when he walked into the audition room and realized he wasn't the only one rooting for him role was ready.

“But here’s the secret: Francis wanted me. He wanted me and I knew it,” Pacino wrote. “And there’s nothing better than when a director wants you. He also gave me a gift in the form of Diane Keaton. He had a few actors he wanted to audition for the role of Kay, but the fact that he wanted to pair me with Diane suggested she had an advantage. I knew she was doing well in her career and was appearing on Broadway in shows like… hair And Play it again, Sam with Woody Allen. A few days before the screen test, I met Diane at a bar at Lincoln Center in New York City and we hit it off immediately. She was easy to talk to and funny, and she thought I was funny too. I immediately felt like I had a friend and ally.”

After a week and a half of filming, Paramount “wondered once again if I was the right actor for the role,” Pacino recalled, adding, “Finally, Francis decided that something had to be done. … At this point we had shot The Godfather for about a week and a half. And Francis said, “Well, you can’t do it.”

“I felt it in the pit of my stomach. It wasn’t until I realized my job was at stake,” he wrote.

Although Pacino isn't sure whether Coppola did it “intentionally,” the director “preponed filming the Italian restaurant scene in which the inexperienced Michael arrives to seek revenge on Sollozzo and McCluskey.” That scene was supposed to be one a few days later, but if something hadn't happened that allowed me to show what I was capable of, there might not have been a later for me.”

Luckily for Pacino, the scene showed exactly why Coppola cast him. “Francis then showed the studio the restaurant scene, and when they looked at it, there was something there,” he wrote. “They kept me in the film because of the scene I just played. So I didn't get fired The Godfather. I just kept doing what I was doing, what I was thinking about on those lonely walks through Manhattan. I had a plan, a direction that I really believed was the right path for this character. And I was sure Francis felt the same way.”

The Godfather earned Pacino his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and subsequently received a nomination for Best Actor The Godfather Part II (1974).