The role Al Pacino regrets turning down the most: “There is a museum of mistakes”
Al Pacino is one of the ultimate legends of the film industry, with a strange and elusive presence that is now defined by his sporadic and unpredictable persona, often leaving audiences baffled by his mysteries after making public appearances with a Shrek phone case and joining a host of random projects. During the height of his career, he starred in classic films like The Godfather, Scarface, Heat and Dog Day Afternoon, with recent appearances in the work of Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese, with supporting roles in House of Gucci and The Irishman.
However, despite accruing an eclectic and impressive filmography, there are still a number of potential opportunities that the actor didn’t explore, sharing his regret over not starring in one particular franchise.
Pacino rose to fame at a time when everything in Hollywood was changing – directors were finally being given more power, and the studios were shifting towards a new equilibrium in which they respected the creativity and avant-garde ideas of auteurs like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Peter Bogdanovich. Films like The Godfather, Raging Bull and Paper Moon were all key works in the advancement of Hollywood, with independent cinema thriving and encouraging people to engage with new and daring storytellers.
However, during this era, cinema was also changed in another crucial and irreparable way, with the creation of the blockbuster after the success of Jaws and Star Wars. The studios behind both projects didn’t expect the films to do well and actively anticipated their failure, leading to complete surprise and bewilderment when they shattered box office records and changed the future of cinema forever.
For the people who starred in such films, it was a huge money-maker and a surprising route to financial security. It was perhaps because of this that Pacino was later kicking himself after turning down the role of Han Solo in the futuristic space franchise. However, there is another director that the actor regrets more than walking away from Star Wars, who he met while filming Manglehorn in Austin.
Terrence Malick would regularly meet with Pacino during his breaks on set, with the actor saying, “Terry, a long time ago, asked me to be in a movie, and I always wish, there is another one of my mistakes, there is a museum of mistakes, all the movies I rejected.” Instead of working with Malick on Badlands, Pacino chose to collaborate with Sydney Pollack on Bobby Deerfield, which is one of his lesser-known works. As well as this, he also turned down Kramer VS Kramer, Pretty Woman and Die Hard.
The actor must have had the most unfortunate stroke of bad luck or lack of judgement to turn down multiple blockbuster projects, and anyone would be kicking themselves over the missed opportunity to star in one of the most formative works in Malick’s career. However, Pacino has achieved more than enough throughout his decades on screen, and while it may be a slightly sore subject, he has forged his own path in the industry that is defined by monumental stories that you could argue outdo all of them combined.
