More than five decades ago, Al Pacino and Marlon Brando collaborated on their first project together, which ended up being a smash hit: 1972’s The Godfather. Yet, as tremendously as both the actors performed as prominent characters in the film, they apparently didn’t receive the same and fair treatment while being applauded for the masterpiece’s success at the Academy Awards.
That said, multiple rumors started floating around about Pacino’s hatred for his co-star Brando, because of how unfairly he was treated in front of him at the Oscars. However, as it turns out, surprisingly enough, all of those rumors were nothing short of mere pieces of gossip, considering how Pacino even seemed disturbed while addressing and refuting all such rumors.
Al Pacino Clears the Air About His Alleged Feud with Marlon Brando Over The Godfather
Back in 1972, when The Godfather initially hit the theatres, starring Pacino and Brando in prominent roles as Michael Corleone and Vito Corleone respectively, it was tremendously acknowledged and lauded with praise by both the audiences as well as the Academy.
This is evident from its star-studded reviews and the 11 nods it scored at the Oscars that followed.
However, despite such immaculate success, many speculated there was a feud between Al Pacino and the Vito Corleone portrayer for a multiplicity of reasons, all related to those specific Academy Awards that acknowledged the masterwork.
For one, Marlon Brando was nominated (and won) for Best Actor in a Leading Role as compared to Pacino, who scored a nomination in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category despite having more screen time than Brando.
This led to rumors that there was some ongoing rivalry between the two because of the same. But, according to Pacino, these reports are anything but true.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pacino touched down on the same while talking to David Rubenstein for the 92nd Street Y, New York’s “People Who Inspire Us” series, as he said:
“How does a story like that get out? I wasn’t upset, are you kidding me?”
Needless to say, the Scent of a Woman star’s response has made it evident that he was greatly disturbed by even being asked to address such absurd rumors that were far from the truth.
But that wasn’t the only rumor that Pacino debunked, because there was even more speculation about why he didn’t attend that year’s Oscar ceremony, and the 84-year-old actor didn’t hesitate to clear out the air on that one.
Al Pacino Also Debunked Rumors on Why He Didn’t Attend the Oscars That Year
While he seemed truly astounded to even hear about such rumors going around when asked if he was upset about Brando winning Best Actor and him only being nominated for supporting actor, Al Pacino admitted that he was aware of one other rumor regarding that year’s Oscar ceremony.
This rumor was reportedly about him not attending the Academy Awards of 1973 due to his alleged feud regarding their nominations.
The Heat actor blatantly debunked those rumors during the same interview, saying:
“[My reason for not attending the ceremony was] not because of that. Let’s clear the air on that one. I’d been hearing about that up the grapevine.”
As it turns out, this alleged rivalry between those two Oscar-winning co-stars was nothing short of people telling porkies out of their imagination.
That said, you can still watch The Godfather to reminisce about their amazing collaboration on Prime Video.
