The Godfather was a make-it-or-break-it moment for Al Pacino.
In the actor’s new memoir, Sonny Boy, he reminisces on almost being “fired” from the 1972 film due to his performance. In an excerpt from the book, obtained by The Guardian, Pacino revealed he had doubts about playing Michael Corleone—doubts that started at auditions. Regardless, he still landed the role; director Francis Ford Coppola took a liking to him over the others.
After they started filming, Pacino wrote, “[co-star Diane Keaton] and I spent those first days laughing with each other, having to perform that opening wedding exposition scene from the screen test that we hated so much.
“On the basis of just that one scene, we were certain we were in the worst picture ever made, and when we’d finish shooting for the day, we would go back to Manhattan and get drunk. Our careers were over, we thought.”
At that point, Paramount studio executives weren’t impressed with Pacino’s performance, with him claiming that they were “questioning whether I was the right actor for the part.”
Related
He continued, “The rumor 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. Not that Francis wasn’t cutting it—I wasn’t. But he was the one responsible for me being in the film.”
Pacino shared that a scene had been moved up in the shooting schedule, which would “let me show what I was capable of.” That scene was the one in which Corleone exacts his revenge on two enemies.
“Francis showed the restaurant scene to the studio, and when they looked at it, something was there,” Pacino wrote. “Because of that scene I just performed, they kept me in the film. So I didn’t get fired from The Godfather.”
The film went on to become a hit and earned the 84-year-old an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the prodigal son of mafia boss Vito Corleone.
Pacino’s memoir, Sonny Boy is out now.
Source link
[redirect url=’https://fastpowers.com/’ sec=’3′]