What else can you say about The Godfather? As it turns out, there’s an added twist you may not have known about concerning one of the lead roles in the quintessential mob movie made in 1972. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and adapted from Mario Puzo’s unmatched source material novel, it became the gold standard for not only movies about crime families but motion pictures in general. We could get into the beautiful score, the top-notch cinematography, and the tremendous job done by Coppola in handling the egos of such a stacked and talented cast, but this particular article will instead delve into how the role of Michael Corleone almost went to arguably the finest actor of the last 55 years but didn’t. And why Jack Nicholson turned it down is probably not the reason you think.Al Pacino Is Synonymous With ‘The Godfather’
There is a perfect reason that the axiomatic adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is still around. Al Pacino and The Godfather are absolutely synonymous with each other. The actor playing the youngest Corleone son, Michael, was a star turn, and we can’t imagine anyone else in the role that made him a true household name. From the dark, wavy Italian-Sicilian hair and eyes to the cadence with which he delivered lines like, “My father made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.” And moment like after he’s taken a right hook to the jaw from the dirty cop Captain Mark McClusky (the great Sterling Hayden), mumbling to his brother Sonny (James Caan) about whacking him as revenge, “It’s not personal. It’s strictly business.”
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