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Al Pacino on the inside story of The Godfather: ‘I was told, you’re not cutting it’

When he bagged the lead role, he couldn’t believe his luck. But after just a week of filming he was on the brink of being fired. In an exclusive extract from his new book, the actor recalls the making of the film that changed his life

He also gave me a gift in the form of Diane Keaton I sat through a few days’ worth of screen tests wearing an early version of Michael’s army uniform and a hangdog expression on my face. From my humble day-to-day life, I found myself plunged into the set of a huge Hollywood film, filled with equipment, hot lights and dolly tracks, cranes and booms, microphones hovering overhead, and a company of actors with hundreds of extras, all working under Francis’s direction. The wedding scene with, from left, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Gianni Russo, Talia Shire, Morgana King, Marlon Brando, James Caan, Julie Gregg, Al Pacino and Diane Keaton.

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