The classic Steven Spielberg role Al Pacino turned down
The New Hollywood movement gave rise to cinema’s biggest names, from directors like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese to actors like Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The latter began his career in the late 1960s before impressing critics with a starring role in 1971’s The Panic at Needle Park.
Pacino didn’t take long to land high-profile roles, such as Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, which quickly became the year’s highest-grossing film. The actor thanks much of his success to the movie, telling The New York Times: “I’m here because I did The Godfather. For an actor, that’s like winning the lottery. When it comes right down to it, I had nothing to do with the film but play the part.”
He revealed that the movie encouraged him to immerse himself in the craft more deeply, dedicating himself to a career equally demanding and rewarding. Shooting the actor to instant acclaim and stardom, he soon secured jobs working with filmmakers such as Sidney Lumet, Brian De Palma and Sydney Pollack.
Pacino defined the ‘70s with his starring roles, becoming one of Hollywood’s most recognisable figures. With his star status rising, Pacino was in high demand. Subsequently, he had to turn down many roles that could’ve brought him even greater success and financial reward. Pacino has consistently starred in interesting films and is determined to maintain his integrity as an actor. He once said: “I hope the perception is that I’m an actor, I never intended to be a movie star. I’m constantly striving to break through to something new.”
Thus, Pacino has found himself rejecting roles that simply don’t fit the bill. During the 1970s, as science-fiction blockbusters became more popular, Pacino avoided such projects, instead appearing in hard-hitting dramas and crime films such as Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon. He turned down several major films, such as Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, due to being disinterested in the movie.
Spielberg had recently created the major blockbuster Jaws, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind marked his next step towards Hollywood domination. The film grossed over $300million internationally and, alongside movies such as Star Wars and Alien, led to a cinematic science-fiction boom.
The movie features Richard Dreyfuss, who also starred in Jaws, although the actor almost failed to secure the role. The director was much more interested in Steve McQueen, but he turned down the part. Subsequently, Spielberg expressed a desire to cast actors like Pacino and Jack Nicholson, but Dreyfuss eventually came out on top.
