Al Pacino has recalled the moment Francis Ford Coppola telephoned to offer him the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather, a part the actor believed was a "hundred-million-to-one shot". In an extract from his new book, Pacino describes how he initially doubted the call, thinking the director might be fantasising.
Despite his surprise, Paramount executives did not share Coppola's enthusiasm. The studio wanted Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty or Ryan O'Neal for the role, and had already rejected Coppola's proposed cast, including Jimmy Caan, Bob Duvall and Marlon Brando. Pacino was required to screen-test, a process he had never undergone before.
Pacino was reluctant to fly to the west coast, but his manager Marty Bregman insisted, providing him with a pint of whiskey for the journey. Before the test, Coppola took him to a barber in San Francisco for an authentic 1940s haircut; the barber, upon learning of the film, suffered a heart attack. The atmosphere at Paramount was tense, with executives shouting at one another.
For the test, Pacino wore an early version of Michael's army uniform and adopted a "hangdog expression", which he described as a facade that got him through everything. The scene involved Michael explaining his family's business to his girlfriend Kay, played by Diane Keaton, over glasses of water pretending to be wine. Pacino noted it was "not the best one they could have picked".
