All the Roles Al Pacino Declined…
I made a list of actors that turned down big roles in big movies, and a notable exclusion from that list was Al Pacino. There is a little bit of a running joke in the movie world in regards to all the major films & roles Pacino has passed on. The recipient of an Oscar, 2 Tonys, 2 Emmys, 2 SAG Awards, & 4 Golden Globes, Pacino’s career is considered one of the all-time greatest. Having starred in films like ‘The Godfather’ trilogy, ‘Scent of a Woman,’ ‘Dog Day Afternoon,’ ‘The Irishman,’ ‘Serpico,’ ‘Scarface,’ ‘Heat,’ ‘Carlitos’ Way,’ ‘Any Given Sunday,’ ‘Ocean’s Thirteen,’ & ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, so his resume speaks for itself, but just imagine how much more legendary (legendarier?) it would be with these movies on it as well…
Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in ‘Star Wars’- We’ll start with the biggest role & movie featured. Han Solo is a role that is synonymous with the originator, Harrison Ford. Yet, the role was originally offered to Pacino, thought he turned down the role because he didn’t understand the script. He jokes that by turning down the role, he ‘gave Harrison Ford a career.’ Like I said, Pacino’s career is great without this role, but considering that some people consider Han Solo the greatest movie character ever, I’d say that was a miss.
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) in ‘Taxi Driver’- The first of two roles that would go to Bobby De Niro after Pacino passed, the two men starred together in ‘The Godfather Part II’ and I never knew the difference between them as a kid. I personally am not a huge fan of ‘Taxi Driver,’ but there is not denying its iconicity and cultural impact. Just imagine, we could’ve seen Pacino shave his hair into a mohawk & ask himself ‘you talking to me?’
Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) in ‘GoodFellas’- The other major role Pacino passed on that went to De Niro was in a genre that both men know all too well, the gangster crime genre. One of the all-time greats & my personal favorite of the genre are ‘GoodFellas’ which stars a trio of Conway, Ray Liotta as Henry Hill, & Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito. Both this and ‘Taxi Driver’ come from the mind of Martin Scorsese. Scorsese & De Niro worked together on 10 films, and I wonder if Pacino had taken the role in ‘Taxi Driver’ if he would’ve been Scorsese’s go-to guy instead? Scorsese & Pacino wouldn’t work together until 2019 for ‘The Irishman,’ which also starred De Niro and Pesci.
John McClane (Bruce Willis) in ‘Die Hard’- The greatest action movie of all-time (fight me), the iconic role of John McClane was turned down by a slew of big names. The studios first choice was Arnold Schwarzenegger who declined to branch out into comedy with ‘Twins,’ and was also turned down by Richard Dean Anderson, James Caan, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Richard Gere, Mel Gibson, Don Johnson, Paul Newman, Nick Nolte, Burt Reynolds, Sylvester Stallone, & of course, Pacino. Funnily enough the first actor that was offered the role was 70 year old Frank Sinatra as the studio was contractually obligated to approach him first. The studio reluctantly approached Bruce Willis, who was known only for his comedic work in the TV show, ‘Moonlighting’ and he also initially rejected due to obligations on the show. However when his co-star, Cybill Shephered, got pregnant, shooting stopped for about a year, allowing Willis to take the role. I personally think his comedic chops helped define the character and couldn’t imagine another actor delivering the line ‘Yippie-Ki Yay mother——’ with the same effect.
Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) in ‘Beverly Hills Cop’- Under ‘Lists’ you can read the aforementioned article about actors who passed on roles, and one included was Arnold Schwarzenegger as Axel Foley. Mickey Rourke was the studios first choice declined, then the role was given to Arnold (go read about that tale on my list), before then being offered James Caan, Harrison Ford, Richard Pryor, and once again, Mr. Pacino. After Murphy came on, the script was changed dramatically and the film was converted more into a comedy.
Capt. Willard (Martin Sheen) in ‘Apocalypse Now’- One of the greatest war films of all-time, Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece features Martin Sheen as the third billed actor, though he is inarguably the protagonist. It, along with ‘Badlands’ were Sheen’s breakthrough roles so if Pacino had accepted the role, we may not have Emilio Estevez or Charlie Sheen’s careers either. Pacino said the reason he turned the film down was because filming was on location for too long & he was afraid he would get sick from his time in the jungle, as he did while filming ‘The Godfather Part II.’ We also would’ve gotten a small reunion of ‘The Godfather’ as the top two billed actors in ‘Apocalypse Now’ are Marlon Brando & Robert Duvall, with the film being directed by Coppola.
Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) in ‘Kramer vs Kramer’- Though this role as a man going through a tenuous divorce wasn’t Dustin Hoffman’s star making role, it did win him his first Oscar. The film overall received 9 nominations, winning 5. While Hoffman was the filmmaker’s first choice, he initially declined because he was going through a divorce in real life. The role was offered to James Caan who declined because he thought the film would flop, before it was offered to Pacino, who said he just felt like it wasn’t for him. It was then turned down by Jon Voight before Hoffman agreed to play the part.
Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) in ‘Pretty Woman’- Another decent sized list of top tier actors who turned down a project. Albert Brooks, Burt Reynolds, & Sylvester Stallone all declined, as did Pacino, who went as far as to do a read with Julia Roberts. I personally couldn’t imagine Pacino in a rom com and had to Google if he had ever done one (1991’s ‘Frankie & Johnny’ opposite Michelle Pfeiffer). Also the film already poses a 20-year age gap between Roberts & Gere, Pacino would’ve added another decade onto that number.
John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) in ‘First Blood’- Doing a someone like this can really show you just how many actors a studio goes through. I’m really not trying to just make all these a list of names, but I personally find it fascinating. Some of the actors considered for Rambo were Powers Boothe, James Caan, Michael DouglasSteve McQueen, Paul Newman, Nick Nolte, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, & John Travolta, as well as Dustin Hoffman who was offered and rejected the part. Pacino also had an offer and turned it down because he felt the subject was too dark and wanted Rambo to be ‘more of a lunatic.’
Kevin Dunne (Gary Sinise) in ‘Snake Eyes’- This 1998 thriller from ‘Scarface’ director, Brian De Palma, stars Nicolas Cage as a detective in the Atlantic City PD. Al Pacino was offered the secondary role of Navy commander, Kevin Dunne, though he declined. Will Smith was then cast, but left the role because he felt he wasn’t making enough money. Gary Sinise eventually took the part, and just a random side note, actor Kevin Dunn also appears in the film, though as Lou Logan, not Kevin Dunne.
Paul Sheldon (James Caan) in ‘Misery’- You’d never guess this, but another stacked pool of actors turned down ‘Misery.’ William Hurt twice declined the part before it being subsequently declined by Pacino, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, & Robert Redford. Warren Beatty really wanted the role, but had to pass due to the extended production of ‘Dick Tracy.’ The part was eventually offered to Pacino’s ‘The Godfather’ brother, James Caan, who was intrigued by how different the character was from his previous roles.
Luke Martin (Jon Voight) in ‘Coming Home’- This film, starring Voight & Jane Fonda, earned both of them an Oscar. To offset the grim nature of the story (a woman forming a romance with a paralyzed Vietnam vet while her own husband was deployed), the studio wanted a big name star. Pacino, Jack Nicholson, & Sylvester Stallone all declined the part. Voight was initially brought in to play the husband, but campaigned for himself to be the lead instead. Fonda conceived the idea for the film, based on her friendship with Ron Kovic. And speaking of him…
Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise) in ‘Born on the Fourth of July’- After seeing Ron Kovic’s appearance at the 1976 Democratic Convention & reading his autobiography, Pacino really wanted to portray Kovic on film. Pacino passed on both ‘Apocalypse Now’ & ‘Coming Home’ (both Vietnam War films) with the hopes of this film being made. Producer Martin Bregman, Kovic, & Pacino worked on getting the film made, but were never able to get on terms with the studio, so it went into ‘development hell.’ Eventually the film was able to be made with Tom Crusie starring & Kovic contributing to the script.
Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) in ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’- In Steven Spielberg’s oft forgot sci-fi film, Dreyfuss stars as a lineworker who becomes obsessed with aliens & UFOs. Steve McQueen was Spielberg’s first choice, but declined because he couldn’t cry on command. Frequenters of this article, James Caan, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, & Jack Nicholson also all declined, as did Pacino. Dreyfuss had wanted the part before the film was even being produced, because he and Spielberg has discussed it many times while filming ‘Jaws.’ A quote from Dreyfuss reads “I launched myself into a campaign to get the part. I would walk by Steve's office and say stuff like 'Al Pacino has no sense of humor' or 'Jack Nicholson is too crazy'. I eventually convinced him to cast me.”
Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) in ‘The Usual Suspects’- I saved this for last because Pacino has said this is the film he most regrets passing on. While Palminteri was the first choice, he was always unavailable when approached. Robert De Niro & Christopher Walken both declined, and Pacino turned it down because his most recent role was also as a cop in ‘Heat.’ Palminteri eventually became available, for only a week, so all the interrogation scenes were filmed over a span of 5 days and well before the rest of the movie.
