Why Al Pacino Thought That Francis Ford Coppola Would Fire Him From The Godfather

Static Media

Now considered one of the greatest actors of our time, it's strange to think that even Al Pacino had a heavy case of nerves when it came to taking on what is easily the most beloved role in his career. Way back when, in the early stages of Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather," the actor set to become the son of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) had a strong case of doubt about his future in the film (which would turn out to be not just a hit, but also one of the best movies ever made).

In Pacino's memoir "Sonny Boy," the actor explains that the pressure was on for his place in the Corleone family tree. Whatever the young actor was turning up with wasn't working. The studios could see it, and worst of all so could his director. It was during an unplanned meeting with Coppola that Pacino quickly realized just how close he was to not necessarily sleeping with fishes but at least getting shown the door with "The Godfather."

During a one-to-one with the director, Pacino had it all laid out. "Finally, Francis said, 'You know how much you mean to me, how much faith I had in you.' At this point we had been shooting 'The Godfather' for about a week and a half. And Francis said, 'Well, you're not cutting it,'" the actor recalled. Thankfully, after rejigging the shooting schedule, a pivotal scene in Michael's story was pushed forward and saved Pacino's skin, but not before Pacino took his lumps in the process.

Paramount Pictures

After reviewing his performance opposite Diane Keaton during the wedding at the start of "The Godfather" (which would go on to become one of the greatest scenes in Coppola's filmography), Pacino started to see the problem. The man reminiscing on his sister's special day wasn't the cold-hearted monster that would awaken in a quiet Bronx-based restaurant when Michael assassinated Sollozzo (Al Lettieri) and McCluskey (Sterling Hayden). That's what the studio needed to see, and thanks to Coppola changing reservations, they got it.

"That scene was not meant to be filmed until a few days later, but if something hadn't happened to let me show what I was capable of, there might not have been a later for me," Pacino confessed. Things went smoothly until the actor twisted his ankle trying to hop in the getaway car, which Pacino took as a blessing. "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," he added.

Thankfully, that didn't happen and what Pacino and Coppola ended up with was enough to sway Paramount back on side with the filmmaker and his frontman. "Then Francis showed the restaurant scene to the studio, and when they looked at it, something was there. Because of that scene I just performed, they kept me in the film. So I didn't get fired from 'The Godfather,'" Pacino explained. It was a close call, but also one that perhaps could've been dodged if the actor had followed Clemenza's (Richard S. Castellano) advice; walk out of the place real fast, but you don't run.