'The Godfather' Originally Had Robert De Niro Playing a Completely Different Role — Thank God It Didn't Happen

1972’s The Godfather and its sequel in 1974 are two of the few perfect films in cinema history. A great adaptation of Mario Puzo‘s original novel and a fantastic exploration of the wider world and larger thematic concepts, and much of that is down to the casting. Every actor gives a wonderful performance in their role, both embracing the written characters and adding their own insights. Perhaps the most famous example of this is how Marlon Brando made his own decision to stuff his cheeks with cotton for his interpretation of Vito Corleone. However, one casting possibility almost changed everything, and it would have ruined The Godfather: Part II as well as prevented a fascinating bit of Academy Awards history. Somehow, despite it seeming impossible to think of another actor now, Robert De Niro was almost not in Part II because he came close to playing a rather minor role in the 1972 film.

Robert De Niro Almost Played the Deceitful Paulie in ‘The Godfather’

During a Q&A at the New York premiere of Megalopolis, via Indie Wire, director Francis Ford Coppola explained that De Niro gave an “unforgettable audition for Sonny Corleone.” As we know, the part would end up going to James Caan, who gives a brilliant performance as the tough and hot-tempered eldest son of Vito. Because of this, Coppola explained on his YouTube channel, alongside a clip of De Niro’s audition, the actor was offered the part of Paulie (Johnny Martino), the soldier who betrayed the Corleone family. By calling in sick the day he was supposed to guard Vito Corleone, the don was left open to the assassination attempt in the infamous orange scene.

At the time, while De Niro had played significant roles in Mean Streets and Greetings, this size of role could have been something he may have taken as his career developed. Instead, he took a much larger role in the crime comedy, The Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight. While this film is not one that will be remembered in De Niro’s filmography, only currently sitting at 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, it did leave him open to the opportunity to play what would be one of the greatest roles of his career.

Custom image of Marlon Brando in The Godfather

The 25 Best Quotes from ‘The Godfather,’ Ranked

“I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

Thankfully, De Niro Would Go on to Play a Young Vito Corleone in ‘The Godfather Part II’

I think we can all agree that, while De Niro would have no doubt given a good performance, this would have been a huge mistake, as not only is Paulie a role that wouldn’t be enough for the level of De Niro’s ability, but it would have ruined Part II. For many, De Niro and the narrative of Vito’s journey from orphaned immigrant to powerful mob boss is the best part of the sequel. His role as a young Vito contextualizes how Michael (Al Pacino) is descending into coldness, as De Niro plays his don with more warmth than we see from Pacino. Furthermore, De Niro’s performance was so good it led to an iconic Oscar feat, where he and Brando became the first pair of actors to win an award for the same character. This has been repeated for the character of The Joker. Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight, and Joaquin Phoenix won Best Leading Actor for 2019’s Joker. Coppola described the idea during his Q&A as being considered “outrageous” at the time because the role “had been made so famous by Marlon.”

Perhaps it wasn’t the done thing at the time, but De Niro’s Oscar win is what would have laid the groundwork for something like Ledger and Phoenix’s win, as it proved the Academy can give love to different iterations of the same character. Because of this, it truly would have been a mistake for De Niro to play Paulie in The Godfather. It would have been easy for De Niro to jump at the chance to be squeezed into what was a highly anticipated film, considering how popular the novel was. However, what we got instead in Part II was a role worthy of De Niro’s talent, as he made Vito his own, delivering a performance that was so good, that no one could refuse to praise him.