It turns out that, unlike Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro had no trouble securing the role of the young Don Corleone in the legendary The Godfather. In an interview with GQ, the actor shared how he ended up on set, revealing that he wasn’t even given an audition. Francis Ford Coppola simply called him and offered him the role after consulting with Martin Scorsese, although at the time, Scorsese didn’t know De Niro very well.
"I Francis knew a little bit, but Marty — somehow, he and Francis had talked, and Francis asked about me," De Niro explained. "He wanted me to come out to San Francisco to test with him, to work with him or whatever. I was ready to do that, and then they just called and said, 'It's okay, you don’t have to come; you have the part.' It was great, it was interesting."
In response to the interviewer's question, wteher it was true that Coppola wanted Scorsese to direct first, he said,
"Well, he might have suggested Marty at one point when he was having his own... the way I understand it. I don’t know, I never talked to him about it. But I could see why he would think of Marty. Of course, Marty would have been good to do it. But, you know, I’m happy Francis did it."
The Godfather franchise is arguably the most renowned and critically acclaimed portrayal of the criminal world. The first film achieved monumental success, with Marlon Brando winning the Best Actor Oscar, Francis Ford Coppola taking home the Best Director Oscar, and the film itself being awarded Best Picture. As for Robert De Niro, he received his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in The Godfather Part II for his portrayal of the young Vito Corleone.
Interestingly, Marlon Brando, without whom the film would certainly have lost its brilliance, faced significant challenges in securing the role of Don Corleone. His reputation for being difficult to work with, coupled with his less-than-ideal physical appearance for the character, made studio executives hesitant. Furthermore, his previous box office failures only added to the uncertainty surrounding his casting. However, thanks to Coppola's persistence and vision, Brando ultimately secured the role — and the rest, as they say, is history.
