Released over five decades ago, The Godfather has continued to leave audiences spellbound with their fresh concept of a gangster world. The movie revolves around the powerful mafia family, the Corleones with patriarch Vito Corleone( played by Marlon Brando) heading it. Behind the scenes, many might be surprised that the movie featured one actual mafia, Lenny Montana who played the role of Luca Brasi in the project.
Also Read: Marlon Brando Rejected an Oscar-Nominated Role in $31M Dustin Hoffman Film as He Was White
Montana’s casting is quite intriguing which involved the lead actor mooning at a mob enforcer resulting in his entry in the movie.
Marlon Brando ‘Mooned’ at Mob During The Godfather Production
During the production process of Marlon Brando’s The Godfather, the real mafia got fascinated with what the project was all about via X user, @fasc1nate. Their curiosity led them to follow the cast around the set. Not only that, but they also hung around the filming set which ticked off many actors including the lead star. There was one instance when Brando along with Al Pacino and Robert Duvall were chauffeured away when their driver noticed “a suspicious-looking cast of characters” following them.
That led Brando to take the matter into his own hands, he rolled down the car window, pulled his pants down, and mooned them.
The X user wrote,
“Brando said he had had enough of ‘those mob b–tards,’ rolled down the car window, pulled down his pants all the way, and mooned them! Duvall later said of the event that his famous co-star pulled his pants down just a little too much.”
Soon after that incident, the mob sent real-life mafia enforcer, wrestler, and doorman Lenny Montana to play the role of Vito Corleone’s bodyguard, Luca Brasi.
Real Life Mafia Lenny Montana Worked Alongside Marlon Brando in The Godfather
While the film director, Francis Ford Coppola worked meticulously to create each scene, not everything went as planned including Montana’s specific specific with Marlon Brando. The former professional wrestler was quickly cast as Brasi due to his immense physique of 6 ft. 6 inches.
As per Time Magazine, the real-life mafia completely froze when he stood in front of Brando, resulting in fumbling his lines. As per the X user, Montana was a huge fan of his co-star in real life which was the major reason why he fumbled his lines during his scene with Brando. However, the legendary filmmaker took advantage of his actor’s nervousness as he curated a sequence in which Brasi was in the garden practicing his lines while waiting to see Don Corleone.
The legendary actor also made sure to put his nerves at ease which led him to perform his part well. This sequence eventually made it to the final cut introducing fans to Brasi’s character, which also established Corleone’s influence in the project.
The Godfather is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
