87-Year-Old Icon Rejected Major ’70s Films: Not Even The Godfather or The Sting!

“The Godfather” (1972) consistently ranks at the top of the list of the greatest films of all time, and its prestige is undisputed. Even today, Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece is unanimously celebrated by critics and audiences alike, serving as a benchmark for studies in the beloved realm of cinema.

While some actors, like Sylvester Stallone, were turned down for not looking “Italian enough,” others outright rejected their offers. One notable example is Jack Nicholson, who, in the 1970s, had just risen to fame with “Five Easy Pieces.” Given his track record, it’s no surprise Coppola approached him with a significant role. Yet, Nicholson’s immediate refusal was quite shocking!

When asked why he turned it down – and also passed on “The Sting,” another classic featuring Paul Newman and Robert Redford – Nicholson later revealed his reasoning. He knew both films would succeed but chose to prioritize other projects.

“I think I had a sense of business. I know I have a business sense. I knew then that both ‘The Sting’ and ‘The Godfather’ would be huge hits. However, I thought ‘The Last Detail’ and ‘Chinatown’ were more interesting for me out of the four options.”

Released in 1973, “The Last Detail” by Hal Ashby featured Nicholson as a Navy officer tasked with escorting a young offender to prison. Along the way, he decides to give the young man one last wild night of freedom. Though less known, the film remains an entertaining journey with substantial depth. As for “Chinatown,” the 1974 crime film directed by Roman Polanski and starring Faye Dunaway, it is considered by some to be the greatest film of the 1970s. The plot follows Gittes, a private detective duped by a woman posing as Mrs. Mulwray, who hires him to follow her husband, a Los Angeles water engineer found dead under mysterious circumstances. Gittes persists in his investigation, despite threats from professional killers.

He Still Dreamed of Working with Brando…

However, Nicholson’s choices leaned toward the previously mentioned films, despite his dream of working with Marlon Brando!

“‘The Godfather’ was going to be a good movie. I always wanted to work with Marlon [Brando], but they wanted me for the leading role and a) I thought it should be played by an Italian, and b) I had no scenes with Marlon in the script I read. I figured if I was going to work with Marlon, it should be in a different project where we could truly collaborate.”

Jack Nicholson stayed true to his principles and waited another four years to co-star with Marlon Brando in the western “The Missouri Breaks” by Arthur Penn. What followed is well-known: a stellar career with few regrets from this cinematic legend.

And speaking of principles, recall Marlon Brando, who famously refused the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Don Corleone in March 1973. He sent Sacheen Littlefeather, an Apache actress, in his place to decline the award on stage as a protest against the portrayal of Native Americans in film.

Listen to Jack Nicholson’s reasons in the video below:

“The Godfather” is available for streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, and Paramount+. Its sequels can primarily be found on Prime Video.