In 1982, Jack Nicholson revealed that regardless of how good the opportunity would be, he turned down the part of Michael Corleone for what now would seem a logical and totally understandable choice — he wasn’t Italian (via Twitter). When asked his thoughts on passing over the role, Nicholson said, “‘Godfather’ was going to be a good film. I’d always wanted to work with Marlon [Brando]. I was asked to play the lead in it, but a) I thought it should be an Italian person, and b) I didn’t have any scenes with Marlon in the script I read.”
Additionally, Nicholson was concerned that taking on the role might blow his chance of getting a bit more time in front of the camera further down the line. “I thought I was only liable to get to work with Marlon once and let’s hope that it might be something where we really have to work together.” That would eventually come to pass four years later when the two starred together in “The Missouri Breaks” in 1976.
Thankfully though, Nicholson held no bitterness for not taking on the role that would land Al Pacino an Oscar nomination. Historically, the Corleone That Could’ve Been had nothing but high praise for Pacino in the end.
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