“They Were Giggling”. Al Pacino Was Treated Terribly on the Set of The Godfather and Dreamed of Breaking Free from the Project
Al Pacino does not have the best recollection of his experience on the set of The Godfather, where his acting skills were doubted.
Al Pacino is one of the stars of the iconic The Godfather, and it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role of Michael Corleone, however the studio, although Pacino was the director's first choice for the character, didn't like the actor. They preferred to bet on other artists. Pacino himself was initially extremely shocked that Francis Ford Coppola wanted him to play Michael. Paramount, on the other hand, as Pacino described it in his autobiography Sonny Boy, preferred Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty or Ryan O'Neal (via The Guardian).
Pacino also revealed that Coppola had a huge problem convincing Paramount to his chosen cast – reportedly every option was rejected by them.
Paramount had already rejected Francis’s entire cast. They rejected Jimmy Caan and Bob Duvall, who were great established actors, well on their way to what they would become. They rejected Brando, for Christ’s sake. It was quite clear walking into the studio that they didn’t want me either. And I knew I wasn’t the only one being considered. Many of the young actors of the day were reading for Michael. That was an unpleasant feeling.
However, Pacino had an advantage over other candidates – the director wanted him in the role. This, however, was not enough to make Pacino feel secure in it, even after he was cast in it in the film. He confessed that once they started filming and Paramount executives saw what had been filmed so far, they again began to doubt Pacino's suitability for the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather. This, in turn, became a source of difficulty on the set.
The rumour had got out around the set that I was going to be let go from the picture. You could feel that loss of momentum when we shot. There was a discomfort among people, even the crew, when I was working. I was very conscious of that. The word was that I was going to be fired, and, likely, so was the director.
At the time on set, Al Pacino felt uncomfortable on set. He saw that he was judged by others, and even while being a guest on the Team Coco podcast, he revealed that people on set who doubted his abilities “were giggling” behind his back. In his autobiography, he wrote that when he suffered an injury on the set, he was relieved because that way they would replace him and it would all be over.
Showing up for work every day, feeling unwanted, feeling like an underling, was an oppressive experience, and this injury could be my release from that prison. At least now they could fire me, recast another actor as Michael, and not lose every dime they’d already put into the picture. But that’s not what happened.
Al Pacino finally proved to all unbelievers that he is suitable for the role of Michael Corleone and knows exactly what he is doing with the character. Doubters were convinced by the scene in the restaurant when Michael took revenge on his enemies.
