Al Pacino turned down iconic ‘Star Wars' role because he was confused
Al Pacino revealed that he passed up on a role in George Lucas ' ' Star Wars ' because he couldn't make sense of the story.
'They handed me this script, and I thought, 'I don't understand,'' the 'Scarface' actor, who was offered the role of Han Solo in the 1977 box office hit, recalled during a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. He added that it felt like he was reading a 'different language.'
Pacino said that he then passed the script along to his friend and mentor, fellow actor Charlie Laughton, for a second opinion.
'He was pretty wise and he said, 'I don't get it, Al. I dunno. I don't get it.' I said, 'Well, I don't either; what are we going to do? They offered me a fortune, but I don't know. No, I can't play something if I don't speak the language.'
'I said, 'I think I'm in the mood to make Harrison Ford a career,'' Pacino quipped, referring to the actor who ended up famously taking on the iconic role in the science-fiction series once he turned it down.
Lucky for him, while he skipped out on the chance to be part of Lucas' billion-dollar franchise, Pacino still had the opportunity to star in a number of highly-acclaimed films in the years that followed, from 'Devil's Advocate' (1997) and 'The Insider' (1999) to ' The Irishman ' (2019) and ' Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.'
His latest project,' The Ritual,' hit theaters Friday, June 6. The horror film also stars Abigail Cowen ('Redeeming Love', 'Fate: The Winx Saga'); Dan Stevens ('Beauty and the Beast', ' Abigail ') and Ashley Greene ('Twilight,' 'It Feeds').
It turns out Pacino wasn't the only actor to turn down the role of the famous intergalactic pilot in the 1970s. 'Boogie Nights' actor Burt Reynolds, who died in 2018, revealed that was also offered the part but turned it down because he 'didn't want to play that kind of role at the time.'
'Now I regret it,' he told Business Insider in 2016. 'I wish I would have done it.'
Others, such as Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell auditioned for the role but never progressed further in the casting process.
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