Pacino was always interested in his craft, never the stardom that came with it. The Godfather turned Al Pacino from a small-time, hustling stage thespian to an international movie star. Almost immediately,

Pacino isn't the only actor who was in the running for Han Solo or turned it down. Burt Reynolds turned it down, saying he later regretted the decision. Sylvester Stallone auditioned for it, and Kurt Russell did as well--you can even watch Russell's audition tape.

"The big paydays that I was used to just weren’t coming around anymore," the veteran actor wrote in his new memoir 'Sonny Boy.'

The Godfather made Al Pacino a star, setting him on a path toward one of the most singular and inimitable careers in Hollywood history. It was also so difficult for the actor to make that he was nearly fired multiple times.

Francis Ford Coppola confronted the star about his performance in an upmarket Manhattan restaurant, telling him to look back on his acting so far.

High above Beverly Hills, just a stone’s throw from the sprawling estates of Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson, I would occasionally rub shoulders with Hollywood icon Al Pacino at the exclusive hilltop tennis club we frequented.