The legendary 1988 role Al Pacino wished he hadn’t turned down: “I gave that boy a career”
Having given several of the most legendary performances in modern cinema, you’d think that Al Pacino wouldn’t be left too distraught by the ones he didn’t get to give.
After all, he’s The Godfather‘s Michael Corleone, Heat‘s Vincent Hanna, Dog Day Afternoon‘s Sonny Wortzik, Scarface‘s Tony Montana, and the title character in Serpico, to name just a handful. Even when the movies aren’t great, Pacino still knows how to leave an indelible impression.
Of all the movies to bestow the living legend with his solitary Academy Award, Scent of a Woman was arguably the least deserving and most unworthy, but it still allowed him to introduce his signature war cry of “Hoo-ah!” into the cultural lexicon, so in its own unique way, it’s an integral part of his legacy.
At a stretch, you could maybe say the same about his performance as Al Pacino in Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill, which is so demented that it’s genuinely worth watching. Make no mistake; you should skip through absolutely everything else, but the star’s work is so outlandish that it becomes fascinating.
The biggest names tend to be offered the biggest roles, because that’s how Hollywood works, but it doesn’t always mean the biggest names are entirely receptive to those roles. As everyone knows, Pacino could have been Han Solo, but he didn’t have a clue what he was reading when he perused the Star Wars script.
He also could have played Martin Sheen’s part in Apocalypse Now, Richard Gere’s part in Pretty Woman, and his old buddy Robert De Niro’s part in Goodfellas, but he wasn’t interested. One thing Pacino has never been associated with is action heroism, but he rejected one of the most iconic protagonists in that arena, too.
When caught in a reflective mood, listing all of the high-profile gigs he’s rejected over the years, the scenery-chewing expert revealed that he passed on playing Die Hard‘s John McClane, which netted Bruce Willis a $5million payday and a career-defining character in one of, if not the greatest, action movie ever made.
Taking it in his stride, Pacino added, “I gave that boy a career,” although you never know if he’s joking or not. What’s definitely true is that Die Hard did indeed give Willis a big-screen career, with his highest-profile part to date being the guy from Moonlighting, opposite Sybill Shepherd.
Not that he was the only big name to reject the notion of running around the Nakatomi Plaza without any shoes on, seeing as Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, and just about every other notable leading man in the business also said no.
