However, Pacino had received praise for his role as a heroin addict in the 1971 drama Panic in Needle Parkit was a difficult film that didn’t find a wide audience, and one can certainly assume that, even without it The GodfatherPacino may not have had the brilliant career that he did. Despite how grateful the actor was to land the role of Michael Corleone, he found the process of making the film so challenging that he wanted to give up.

In an interview with Conan O’Brien about his memoirs Sonny Boy Earlier this year, Pacino revealed that at one point he was willing to do almost anything to get out of the film entirely, and that an on-set injury almost caused him to make his wish come true.

“My ankle was injured, somehow it slipped,” he said. “The car had this thing on the side that you could jump on and then jump into. I just looked up at the sky and said, ‘Thank you, God.’ That was my thought. I actually said, ‘Thank God.’ ‘You’re going to get me out of this movie.’ That’s how badly I wanted to leave.”

The challenges on the set of The Godfather pales in comparison to Coppola’s 1979 film Apocalypse nowbut there was so much drama that it became the theme of the 2022 television series The offer. Aside from Coppola’s constant dispute with the studio, Brando refused to learn his lines, the production was threatened by the real-life Mafia, and Paramount considered firing Pacino after viewing early footage of his performance.

Pacino’s frustration continued even after the film’s release. When he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Brando was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars, he boycotted the ceremony because he believed (with good reason) that his relative screen time warranted a Best Actor nomination. Brando also boycotted the event, but not in protest on behalf of Pacino. He famously sent a Native American activist to reject the award, creating one of the most memorable moments in the Academy’s history.

Ultimately, Pacino must have resolved his conflicts with the franchise because he returned for the sequel two years later. This time Coppola had almost complete control of the film, and therefore the location was significantly less turbulent. In the end, Pacino got the Best Actor nomination he wanted, although it would be a few more decades before he finally won.

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