Hollywood is filled with interesting stories from when renowned stars turned down acclaimed projects because of their long list of ifs and buts. Filled with internal doubts and conflicts, one of such actors is Jack Nicholson who turned down a leading role in Francis Ford Coppola’s classic The Godfather.
Francis Ford Coppola’s crime saga naturally became one of the most iconic movies of all time, because of the star-studded cast associated with the project. Therefore, even Jack Nicholson was sought to play the role of Michael Corleone in the movie. But, Nicholson refused to work in The Godfather because of two reasons; one of which included Marlon Brando.
Jack Nicholson Was Offered a Leading Role in The Godfather
Renowned filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola is known for kint-picking his cast for his critically acclaimed projects. That’s how he turns most of his movies into cult classics – by hiring a star-studded cast. Therefore, when he was working on his 1970s classic hit The Godfather, Coppola went through a number of bankable stars of that era.
Among the list of Hollywood A-listers, Jack Nicholson who was fresh from the success of Five Easy Pieces, turned out to be Francis Ford Coppola’s top choice for a leading role. Thus, Nicholson was sought to play the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather. But unfortunately, the actor turned down the one-in-a-million opportunity due to two specific reasons.
Later, the role of Michael Corleone went to Al Pacino, who stunned the audiences with his newly budding talent in the 1972 crime saga. Francis Ford Coppola’s thriller featuring veteran icon Marlon Brando turned into Pacino’s breakout role, which eventually propelled the actor to Hollywood fame.
Reasons Behind Jack Nicholson’s Refusal Involved Marlon Brando
However, amid the whole discussion, we have always wondered why exactly Jack Nicholson refused to appear in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather. Appearing in critically acclaimed projects and earning his fame from epics like Easy Rider, Nicholson was undoubtedly the best choice for the role. But why exactly did he turn down the offer?
According to his interview shared via All The Right Movies, Jack Nicholson explained his reasons for turning down the role in The Godfather. While people might expect shallow reasons, Nicholson actually turned out to have a more thoughtful explanation for turning down the plum part. According to the star, he had two specific reasons for refusing the role.
“I think I had enough business acumen – I know I had enough business acumen – by then to know that both The Sting and The Godfather were going to be huge hits. Godfather was going to be a good film, I’d always wanted to work with Marlon [Brando], I was asked to play the lead in it, and a) I thought it should be played by an Italian person and b) I didn’t have any scenes with Marlon in the script I read.”
Held back due to his moral conflict and lack of scenes with Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson seemingly turned down the offer. He further added, “I thought: ‘Well, I’m liable only to work with Marlon once, and let’s hope that it might be something where we really get to work together’”. Therefore, we believe that scenes with Brando could have convinced Nicholson to play Michael Corleone if only he wasn’t guided by his moral compass.
