How Al Pacino Battled Anxiety and Injuries on the Set of ‘The Godfather’
Al Pacino talks about the extreme measures he went to to land his iconic role in The Godfather.
October 16, 2024, published at 7:17 PM ET
Al Pacino unleashed scandalous revelations in his new memoir, admitting the success of his 1972 mafia classic started with a bottle of whiskey and was tarnished by a debilitating on-set injury.
The Oscar winner detailed his time filming The godfather while writing Sunny boyadmitting he twisted his ankle so badly it almost cost him the legendary role, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Article continues below advertisement
Pacino twisted his ankle so badly on set while filming The Godfather that he was poked with needles to numb the pain.
Pacino, who played gangster Michael Corleone in the Francis Ford Coppola film, said he was stabbed with a “big needle” to numb the pain after his ankle “slipped” while filming an escape scene.
The injury occurred when the actor felt enormous pressure to bring the gangster to life in the right way.
Article continues below advertisement
The Oscar winner’s new memoir reveals that he downed a pint of whiskey before his screen test for The Godfather.
Article continues below advertisement
The actor talked about the Conan O’Brien needs a friend podcast: “(When it happened) people just swallowed, gathered around me and said, ‘He’s hurt,’ and then they stuck one of these big needles in my ankle so I could finish the day, and they kept hold me.”
Pacino did feel relief after the setback, however, as he believed the injury would “take him out of the movie,” which he was hesitant to audition for in the first place.
Article continues below advertisement
His iconic performance ultimately earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1972.
The Hollywood veteran revealed he was drunk during his screen test for The godfather – a bold move after noting that the studio behind the film didn’t want him for the role in the first place.
Article continues below advertisement
He said, “Paramount didn’t want me to play Michael Corleone. They wanted Jack Nicholson. They wanted Robert Redford. They wanted Warren Beatty or Ryan O’Neal.”
Pacino said in the original book that author Mario Puzo had the character of Michael who called himself the “Sissy of the Corleone family.” Michael also had to be “small, dark-haired, delicately handsome, and not a visible threat to anyone.”
Article continues below advertisement
He then added, “That didn’t sound like the guys the studio wanted. But that didn’t mean it had to be me.”
Pacino said he was told he had to fly to California to screen for the role, which he “just didn’t want to do.”
MORE ABOUT:
Al Pacino
DAILY. BREAK. CELEBRITY NEWS. EVERYTHING FOR FREE.
Article continues below advertisement
Pacino said he never thought he was right to play Michael in The Godfather and that Paramount wanted other actors for the role.
Article continues below advertisement
He said: “I didn’t care that it was like that The godfather – I was a little afraid of flying and I didn’t want to go to California.
“But my manager, Marty Bregman, told me, ‘You’re getting on the damn plane.'”
Article continues below advertisement
Pacino then revealed the secret behind his success: drinking a bottle of liquor beforehand.
He said Bregman brought him a pint of whiskey so he could drink it during the flight, which was the driving force in bringing him to the West Coast.
Article continues below advertisement
The actor struggled with alcoholism during peak moments in his career, which he said was “terrible” at times.
Article continues below advertisement
Pacino’s role in the mafia drama paved the way for his blossoming career, which has now spanned more than 50 years.
However, the iconic actor struggled with alcohol abuse during the height of his fame, RadarOnline.com recently revealed.
Article continues below advertisement
He even suffered horrific “blackouts” and often skipped awards shows and press events, which tarnished his reputation in Hollywood.
Pacino said that after he stopped drinking, things “got a little bit worse for a while” before getting better.
