Studio execs being, well, studio execs, they’re always looking for the next big star. So when Francis Ford Coppola set about to cast Michael Corleone, Paramount knew the role could be a launching pad for a young talent and wanted a Robert Redford type like Ryan O’Neal. Pretty much no one, other than Coppola, wanted Al Pacino. With only one role to his credit — Panic in Needle Park — he wasn’t high on the studio’s list. But when Coppola pictured the scenes of Michael wandering the Sicilian countryside with his bodyguards, he saw Pacino’s face. Still, he screen-tested Martin Sheen and Robert De Niro for the part of Michael, and it didn’t help that Pacino’s sessions were less than stellar. He looked pale and uncertain; not exactly a Mafia don. When George Lucas’ wife Marcia edited the screen tests, she told Coppola, “He undresses you with his eyes.” Coppola agreed and eventually wore the execs down.
The Anniversary You Can’t Refuse: 40 Things You Didn’t Know About The Godfather
On March 15, 1972, The Godfather hit movie screens. In the four decades since, it has become acknowledged as one of the greatest movies of all time. TIME has compiled the most interesting stories, anecdotes and tidbits from the film's production
Very Few People Wanted Al Pacino for Michael
Full List
The Corleones at 40
- The Cat
- George Lucas Shot Some Footage
- That Opening Shot
- The Alternate Ending
- It Was Initially Set in the 1970s
- The Horse Head
- Coppola Wasn’t the First Choice
- There Was Originally a Different First Scene
- Very Few People Wanted Al Pacino for Michael
- Burt Lancaster as the Don?
- Brando Was Almost a No-Go
- Until His Incredible Screen Test
- Who Is This Coppola Guy?
- A Palace Coup
- The Prince of Darkness
- There Are Very Few Unorthodox Camera Shots
- Kay and the Wig
- Brando and the Cue Cards
- Pacino Hurt Himself Early in the Shoot
- Everyone Wanted to Know What Brando Looked like as the Don
- Luca Brasi Fumbles His Lines
- Lots of Bare Butt Cheeks
- What’s with All the Oranges?
- Marlon Brando Was a Real Prankster
- Luca Brasi Was a Pro at Dying
- Offensive to Italians?
- What’s the Mob?
- The Succession Scene Needed a Major Rewrite
- Death by a Thousand Bullets
- A Too-Realistic Fight
- Sofia Coppola Played a Boy
- The Baptism Montage
- Deleted Scene No. 1: Michael Shoots His Wife’s Killer
- Going to See Genco in the Hospital
- The Problem with Sinatra
- Vic Damone Was Almost Johnny Fontane
- The Film Was a Family Affair
- The Score Was Honored (and Then Rejected) by the Oscars
- Each of the Main Male Actors Got Oscar Noms
- Ushering in the Age of the Modern Blockbuster
