Francis Ford Coppola had quite the tussle with Paramount to cast Al Pacino in the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather. Pacino was Coppola’s favorite, while the studio was against his casting due to his height. When Coppola finally convinced the studio to cast him, the Scarface actor was skeptical of the film after his first day of filming. He revealed in a 2023 interview that he and co-star Diane Keaton feared for their careers on that day.
However, Al Pacino’s assumptions about the film were proven wrong when it went on to become an industry hit. It also launched the career of the actor who became one of the greatest living actors of our time.
Al Pacino and Diane Keaton Thought Their Careers Were Over After 1 Day Of Filming The Godfather
Al Pacino opened up about his apprehensions while filming the role of Michael Corleone on The Godfather. During his 2023 appearance at 92NY’s People Who Inspire Us series, Pacino shared that he believed his career was over after the first day of shooting The Godfather. He also revealed that he and co-star Diane Keaton got drunk and talked about how their careers would be ruined after the film came out.
He shared this story earlier at the 45th anniversary celebration of the film at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017. He gave the context that the crew was filming the scene where his character, Michael, and Keaton’s character, Kay Adams, were getting married. The scene had to be filmed in artificial light because the crew ran behind their planned schedule.
The Irishman actor revealed that filming the scene in the artificial light was so much chaos. It proved to be too much for both Pacino and Keaton on their first day and they decided to get drunk. Al Pacino shared during the People Who Inspire Us series (via The Hollywood Reporter):
“Diane Keaton and I got drunk and thought, ‘This is it, our careers are over. This is a mess.’”
The Dog Day Afternoon actor’s prediction was so wrong as the film was far from a mess. It was for a time the highest-grossing film ever made. According to Box Office Mojo, the film earned somewhere between $250 and $291 million at the box office. It also received 11 Oscar nominations at the 45th Academy Awards, winning three Oscars.
Al Pacino’s Casting In The Godfather Happened After Several Challenges
Paramount had eyed several actors for the role of Michael Corleone, including Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, and Ryan O’Neal. However, Francis Ford Coppola pushed for the casting of Al Pacino in the film. The director revealed at the Tribeca Festival that he had already imagined the actor roaming the Sicilian countryside as Michael at the time.
Even Pacino wanted a different role in the movie. He had initially eyed the role of the hot-headed Corleone brother, Sonny, but Coppola insisted that he audition for Michael. The studio initially cast James Caan in the role of Michael, but Coppola refused to budge (via Vanity Fair). The studio eventually had to go with Pacino in the lead role and Caan as Sonny Corleone.
Paramount also had to negotiate a deal with MGM to release Pacino from the contract for the film, The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight (via CBS News). The role later went to Robert De Niro, who dropped a role in The Godfather to join that project.
The Godfather trilogy is now available for streaming on Paramount+.
