Jack Nicholson Almost Starred in One of the Greatest Films of All Time

What else can you say about The Godfather? As it turns out, there’s an added twist you may not have known about concerning one of the lead roles in the quintessential mob movie made in 1972. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and adapted from Mario Puzo‘s unmatched source material novel, it became the gold standard for not only movies about crime families but motion pictures in general. We could get into the beautiful score, the top-notch cinematography, and the tremendous job done by Coppola in handling the egos of such a stacked and talented cast, but this particular article will instead delve into how the role of Michael Corleone almost went to arguably the finest actor of the last 55 years but didn’t. And why Jack Nicholson turned it down is probably not the reason you think.

Al Pacino Was Iconic as Michael Corleone

There is a perfect reason that the axiomatic adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is still around. Al Pacino and The Godfather are absolutely synonymous with each other. The actor playing the youngest Corleone son, Michael, was a star turn, and we can’t imagine anyone else in the role that made him a true household name. From the dark, wavy Italian-Sicilian hair and eyes to the cadence with which he delivered lines like, “My father made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.” And moment like after he’s taken a right hook to the jaw from the dirty cop Captain Mark McClusky (the great Sterling Hayden), mumbling to his brother Sonny (James Caan) about whacking him as revenge, “It’s not personal. It’s strictly business.”

Pacino, who was constantly in fear that Coppola would fire the then-unknown star, made us believe that he was in over his head and should leave the family business to his father Vito (Marlon Brando), Sonny, Fredo (John Cazale) and the family consigliere Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall). Just typing all those names as a part of one movie is so satisfying. The level of cinematic goodness in this film is off the charts, and Pacino as the Navy brat turned mafia don is arguably the bell cow of the bunch. You can easily make an argument for Marlon Brando’s unforgettable performance as well given that he took home an Oscar for his work. Inserting Jack Nicholson would seem unfair to every other movie ever made. But at the same time, you would have to subtract Pacino to make that happen. Even though Jack probably would have hit a home run in the role, it’s true that “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”

RELATED‘The Godfather’ Made Frank Sinatra so Mad, He Almost Fought the Author

Jack Nicholson Had an Interesting Reason For Declining the Role

A part like Michael Corleone only comes around once in a lifetime if you’re lucky. So when Coppola sent the script to rising star Jack Nicholson, it was thought that the iconic actor would jump on the first plane and meet him on the set. But he didn’t. He was coming off a new level of popularity and fame after starring in the trippy biker classic Easy Rider a few years prior, and Coppola wanted to capitalize on Nicholson’s upward trajectory. But when the part came across his desk, Nicholson didn’t bite. In 2004, Nicholson revealed what he believed very firmly at the time: “Back then I believed that Indians should play Indians and Italians should play Italians. Mario Puzo had written such a great book that if you go back to it, you’ll see so much of what was special about the movie.” He added, “There were a lot of actors who could have played Michael, myself included, but Al Pacino was Michael Corleone.” It turns out that the legendary actor was politically correct way before it was mainstream, or even a hot-button issue. Up until that point, parts of all different cultures were cast with bigger, more popular actors who didn’t necessarily come from the same heritage or ethnicity that the character was written for. It’s a trend that has changed over the years in Hollywood, but more than half a century ago, to turn down what he had to have known would be a huge role and a feather in his still young, but rapidly swelling hat of a career is rather extraordinary.

We Can Still Imagine Jack Nicholson as Michael Corleone

Just because Nicholson ended up passing on the part doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the thought and images of him in the part of Navy kid turned murderous head of a powerful New York mob family. Take the line we mentioned earlier: “It’s just business, Sonny.” We can hear Jack saying the same line with a much heavier emphasis on the “bizzzness” part of the line. Or adding an elongated “sweetheart” to the end of the great line when he says to Kay (Diane Keaton) “Don’t ask me about my bizzzness, Kay, sweeetheeaaart.” We may not be doing it phonetic justice in a written format, but tell us you can’t hear Jack’s almost feline silkiness delivering some of the most well-known lines of Puzo’s Michael Corleone. It’s delicious, and it’s strangely fun. But we really aren’t ready to say that the part of the movie would have been better with Nicholson instead of Pacino. In fact, it is impossible to improve upon perfection, but man, it sure is a blast to think about.

Jack Nicholson Would’ve Killed Michael’s Most Remembered Line

We’ve already mentioned a couple of Michael’s most famous lines from The Godfather, but try for a moment to hear Jack’s mellifluous and unmistakable dulcet delivering what is the character’s best and most well-known line, “My father assured him that either his brains or his signature would be on the contract,” as he is sitting with Kay during sister Connie (Talia Shire) and Carlo’s (Gianni Russo) wedding near the beginning of the film. Can you hear the coolness and the purr in his voice as Michael takes pride in sharing the grisly nature of his family business with his future wife? We absolutely can, and while we’re sorry it can only exist in our cinephile minds, remember, “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” And ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing broken about the masterpiece of Italian American criminals set in 1940s New York City. So here’s one more adage when it comes to the notion of Jack Nicholson as Michael Corleone…”Let sleeping dogs lie.” And we will take our own advice on this one. And besides, Nicholson’s career turned out fairly well anyway, right?