Al Pacino Says He Almost Got Fired From The Godfather, But Coppola Helped Him Keep His Job

The Godfather is one of the greatest movies ever made, and the story of the making of the film has become the stuff of legend. The behind-the-scenes shenanigans that went into Francis Ford Coppola's American masterpiece have become so ingrained in the popular culture that someone even made an entire TV show about the making of the film ("The Offer," which premiered in 2022). Recently, Al Pacino has talked about almost being fired from The Godfather in the past, and in his new memoir 'Sonny Boy.' The legendary actor goes into more detail, revealing that filming one specific scene probably saved his job in the end.

Francis Ford Coppola moved up the filming of the restaurant scene in The Godfather

In Sonny Boy, Al Pacino recalls that Coppola called him a few weeks into filming Godfather and said bluntly, “You’re not cutting it.” Pacino watched some of the rushes of his performance. “I went into a screening room the next day,” he writes. “I’d already been warned that I might be dropped from the film. When I saw the footage—all scenes from early in the movie—I thought, there’s nothing particularly impressive here. I wasn’t sure what to think, but it was the effect I wanted. I didn’t want to stand out.”

In other words, Pacino felt he was delivering the subtlety needed for the character, though studio executives found his performance lacking. According to rumours, Coppola then took charge and adjusted the shooting schedule to bring forward some action scenes. In his book, Pacino mentions that Coppola denies doing this deliberately, stating, “The jury’s out on whether he did that on purpose, and Francis himself has denied arranging it for my sake…” Regardless of intention, Coppola advanced the filming of the now-iconic restaurant scene.

The Godfather restaurant scene saved Al Pacino's job

There is a scene in the movie where Michael is understandably on edge throughout, as he’s never killed anyone. The tension builds gradually, with Coppola and cinematographer Gordon Willis focusing the camera closely on Pacino’s face as he waits for the right moment to act. Pacino’s expressions reveal the internal conflict, his eyes showing the thought process and anticipation. Finally, Michael seizes his chance and fires, shooting both men in the head. He drops the gun as instructed, though for a split second, it seems he might forget and take it with him. He leaves as Nino Rota’s iconic score begins to play.

There’s speculation that Coppola may have advanced filming this scene to keep Pacino on the project, which ended up being its effect. As Pacino shares in Sonny Boy, “Because of that scene I just performed, they kept me in the film. So I didn’t get fired from The Godfather. I just kept doing what I did ... I did have a plan, a direction that I really believed was the way to go with this character. And I was certain that Francis felt the same way.”

Interestingly, Pacino didn’t alter his performance; he continued portraying Michael as he had from the start. However, the intensity of the restaurant scene underscored that his approach was working. This paid off: The Godfather became a cultural landmark, and Pacino would go on to reprise his role as Michael in The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III.