Al Pacino is widely regarded as one of the finest actors in history. From roles in The Godfather, Scarface, and beyond, he's a household name. However, if history played out a little differently, we'd all know him as Han Solo in the Star Wars movies.
Before Star Wars: A New Hope was being made, Al Pacino was on top of the world. He was a 4-time Oscar nominee, landing roles at every turn. He had the freedom to refuse any offers that came his way, In fact, one such offer came from Star Wars, where he was cited as the perfect candidate to play Han Solo.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Al Pacino remembered when he was offered the role of Han Solo in the original Star Wars movie. It all started with a visit to the headquarters of Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas‘ production company American Zoetrope. “They were in the late-’60s making this. They were real idealists coming into the ’70s with great films all over the globe,” he explained. “So, it was a wonderful place that I actually saw, I went to the building and everything before I did Godfather with them.”
"So I loved their work, but I was doing a show on Broadway at the time, and they handed me this script, and I thought, I don’t understand. [I thought], I must be out of space myself. But I looked at this thing and I sent it to Charlie Loughton, my friend and mentor, actually. I said, ‘What do you make of this?’ 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.'"
The role famously went to another actror. “I said, ‘I think I’m in the mood to make Harrison Ford a career,'” Pacino quipped. And that he did, with Ford going on to be one of the most prolific and popular stars of his generation. Don't ask him about Star Wars though, he's moved on nowadays.
Watch Kurt Russell's audition for Han Solo
Although not all of them were offered the role before turning it down, a lot of notable actors auditioned to play Han Solo, including Christopher Walken, Jack Nicholson, Kelsey Grammer and Bill Murray, per SlashFilm. Then there's Kurt Russell, whose audition you can actually watch:
Speaking to Opie Radio in 2015, Russell recalled that he also auditioned to play Luke Skywalker. It wasn't clear if Lucas was actually going to hire him, so he took a role in a western show called The Quest instead. "The idea I would've turned down Star Wars? I wouldn't have turned down a soap commercial," he joked.
Obviously, everything worked out for everyone in this story, and for Star Wars.
More on Star Wars:
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.