Al Pacino has revealed that he almost quit The Godfather in the first few weeks of filming because he felt he wasn't wanted by the film company as they didn't understand his performance.
We can't imagine anyone else playing Mafia boss Michael Corleone but Pacino told ABC News, "They wanted to fire me when I was on the picture . . . [during] the shooting, first couple of weeks.
"Because they kept seeing the rushes, you know, or the footage that was shot, and they kept looking at it and thinking, 'What is he doing?'"
Director Francis Ford Coppola's backing was the only reason Pacino didn't leave the film, "I was so confused at that time, and Francis was so supportive, you know, and so helping me in it, all of it.
"If it wasn't for Francis, I would've just not showed up one day and said, 'Hey, look man, I don't want to be where I'm not wanted'."
Pacino added, "It was - yes, a form of innocence or detachment in a crazy way. It was a kind of detachment. And then so that when the character finally emerges . . . you say where did that come from? That was what I was really going after."
The star went on to receive a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 1973 Oscars for his performance in The Godfather and a Best Leading Actor nod at the 1975 ceremony for The Godfather Part II.
