Jordan Karlesson
Jack Nicholson came close to clinching the crown jewel of The Godfather: the role of Michael Corleone.
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The casting decision is taking on renewed interest after Diane Keaton recently revealed “no one” initially wanted Al Pacino to play the main role.
Rather, other names up for the role included Nicholson, who turned down the role over concerns he wouldn’t be convincing.
Nicholson addressed the subject directly in a November 2004 interview with Movieline. When asked what major roles he had passed on in his career, the actor replied: “The Godfather. Back then I believed that Indians should play Indians and Italians should play Italians. [Author] Mario Puzo had written such a great book that if you go back to it you’ll see so much of what was special about the movie. There were a lot of actors who could have played Michael, myself included, but Al Pacino was Michael Corleone. I can’t think of a better compliment to pay him.”
Nicholson further commented on what he looks for when reading scripts: “I look to see if it has the potential to be a really interesting movie, and I look to see what could be improved. I also look at the size of the speeches. With rare exceptions, it’s best to have shorter dialogue in films.”
Al Pacino, Face of The Godfather
Nevertheless, Pacino played the central role as Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s trilogy.
Not only that, Pacino earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for playing Corleone in the first Godfather film. Additionally, he nabbed an Academy Award nom for best actor for The Godfather Part II.
“What would The Godfather have been without Al Pacino?” Diane Keaton said last month. “It’s just one of those weird, unusual things in life.”
Other contenders for the Godfather role included Hollywood’s favorite redhead, Robert Redford. However, “Coppola stood firm in his belief that no one would buy the light-haired Redford as an Italian,” CBR.com reported.
