01of 08Marlon Brando as Vito CorleoneCourtesy Everett ; Barry King/WireImageAfter bidding adieu to Broadway,Marlon Brandoturned to movies, albeit a rocky start, starring in a decade of box office flops before being cast inThe Godfatheras mafia boss Don Vito Corleone. Brando contributed to many of his character’s defining traits and even had a hand in the death scene."[Brando] said, ‘Here’s how I play with kids,’ and took an orange peel, cut it into pieces that looked like fangs and slipped them into his mouth," directorFrancis Ford CoppolatoldPlayboy.The role revitalized Brando’s career, yielding him his second Oscar for Best Actor, though Brando famouslyrefused the awardto protest the industry’s treatment of Native Americans.The Hollywood icon was featured in the hitsLast Tango in Paris(1972) andSuperman(1978) and reunited with Coppola forApocalypse Now(1979). Brando’s career fizzled out in the ’80s and ’90s amid personal issues, though he parodied hisGodfatherrole for the 1990 comedyThe Freshman, costarringMatthew Broderick.Brandodied in 2004at the age of 80; he had 11 children.
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Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone
Courtesy Everett ; Barry King/WireImage
After bidding adieu to Broadway,Marlon Brandoturned to movies, albeit a rocky start, starring in a decade of box office flops before being cast inThe Godfatheras mafia boss Don Vito Corleone. Brando contributed to many of his character’s defining traits and even had a hand in the death scene.
“[Brando] said, ‘Here’s how I play with kids,’ and took an orange peel, cut it into pieces that looked like fangs and slipped them into his mouth,” directorFrancis Ford CoppolatoldPlayboy.
The role revitalized Brando’s career, yielding him his second Oscar for Best Actor, though Brando famouslyrefused the awardto protest the industry’s treatment of Native Americans.
The Hollywood icon was featured in the hitsLast Tango in Paris(1972) andSuperman(1978) and reunited with Coppola forApocalypse Now(1979). Brando’s career fizzled out in the ’80s and ’90s amid personal issues, though he parodied hisGodfatherrole for the 1990 comedyThe Freshman, costarringMatthew Broderick.
Brandodied in 2004at the age of 80; he had 11 children.
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Al Pacino as Michael Corleone
Everett ; Dominik Bindl/Getty
Coppola battled to cast the then-little-knownAl Pacinoin the lead role of Michael Corleone because thestudio initially refused. The casting decision was the right choice, resulting in a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Pacino in 1973.
Pacino would go on to be nominated for Oscars for…And Justice for All(1979),Dick Tracy(1990) andGlengarry Glen Ross(1992) — before finally taking home a statuette for Best Actor for 1992’sScent of a Woman. He received another Best Supporting Actor nomination for the 2019 Netflix crime dramaThe Irishman. Pacino’s other major movie roles in the genre includeScarface(1983),Carlito’s Way(1993) andHouse of Gucci(2021). Since 2020, he has appeared on Amazon Prime Video’sHuntersseries.
Pacino has three children. He shares twins Anton James and Olivia Rose withNational Lampoon’s VacationactressBeverly D’Angelo; the two were in a relationship from 1997 to 2003 but never married. His eldest daughter, Julie, is a filmmaker.
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Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone
Robert De Nirowas considered to play both Paulie Gatto and Sonny Corleone inThe Godfather, but he left the project to star in the 1971 comedyThe Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. Though the latter film was poorly received, it allowed De Niro to be cast as a younger Vito Corleone during the flashback sequences ofThe Godfather Part II(1974). De Niro spent months learning Sicilian to play the younger Vito, as nearly all of the character’s dialogue in the film is in the dialect.
De Niro won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the role — the first time in Oscars' history that two actors won an Academy Award for portraying the same character. He was also named Best Actor for 1980’sRaging Bull.
Long recognized as one of Hollywood’s greatest actors, De Niro’s career has included many critically acclaimed films, includingTaxi Driver(1976),The Deer Hunter(1978),The King of Comedy(1982),Awakenings(1990),Cape Fear(1990),Goodfellas(1991),Casino(1995),Wag the Dog(1997),Righteous Kill(2008),Silver Linings Playbook(2012) andThe Irishman, among others.
De Niro then transitioned into more comedic roles like 1999’sAnalyze This, 2002’sAnalyze Thatand theMeet the Parentsfilm series. But he later reunited withGodfathercostar Pacino in the 2008 crime thrillerRighteous Kill.De Niro also starred inSilver Linings Playbook(2012),The Family(2013),The Intern(2015),The Irishman(2019),Joker(2019),The War with Grandpa(2020) andSavage Salvation(2022).
De Niro was married to actress Diahnne Abbott from 1976 to 1988. He later married Grace Hightower in 1997, but theyseparated in 2018. De Niro hassix biracial childrenfrom previous relationships
04of 08Talia Shire as Connie CorleoneCourtesy Everett ; Amy Sussman/WireImageTalia Shire — who played Vito Corleone’s only daughter, Connie, whose extravagant wedding scene opensThe Godfather— had only appeared in a few films before her brother, director Coppola, cast her in his mafia epic.Shire would go on to star as the love interest of another prominent cinematic Italian-American:Sylvester StalloneinRocky(1976) and its first four sequels (she received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for the original film). She reprised her role inThe Godfather Part II— for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress — and TheGodfather Part III(1990). While those remain Shire’s best-known roles, she has also appeared in films likeI Heart Huckabees(2004) andDreamland(2016). In 2023, she starred in the dramaChantilly Bridge.Shire was married to songwriter David Shire from 1970 to 1980 and then to film producer Jack Schwartzman from 1980 to his death in 1994. She has three children, including actorJason Schwartzman.
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Talia Shire as Connie Corleone
Courtesy Everett ; Amy Sussman/WireImage
Talia Shire — who played Vito Corleone’s only daughter, Connie, whose extravagant wedding scene opensThe Godfather— had only appeared in a few films before her brother, director Coppola, cast her in his mafia epic.
Shire would go on to star as the love interest of another prominent cinematic Italian-American:Sylvester StalloneinRocky(1976) and its first four sequels (she received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for the original film). She reprised her role inThe Godfather Part II— for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress — and TheGodfather Part III(1990). While those remain Shire’s best-known roles, she has also appeared in films likeI Heart Huckabees(2004) andDreamland(2016). In 2023, she starred in the dramaChantilly Bridge.
Shire was married to songwriter David Shire from 1970 to 1980 and then to film producer Jack Schwartzman from 1980 to his death in 1994. She has three children, including actorJason Schwartzman.
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Diane Keaton as Kay Adams-Corleone
Courtesy Everett ; Amy Sussman/Getty
Diane Keatonhad only appeared in one feature film before playing Kay Adams, who becomes Michael’s second wife, inThe Godfather.
Keaton has since received Oscar nominations forReds(1981),Marvin’s Room(1996) andSomething’s Gotta Give(2003). Keaton’s other major films includeManhattan(1979),Father of the Bride(1991),Manhattan Murder Mystery(1993),The First Wives Club(1996),The Family Stone(2005),Because I Said So(2007),Mad Money(2008),And So It Goes(2014) andBook Club(2018)
The actress — who became as well known for hereccentric fashionas for her movies — remains a Hollywood darling and continues to dole out inspiring life advice: “Don’t take too much time on yourself,” she told PEOPLE in 2017. “Keep looking outward — that’s where the amazing part of life is.”
While she hadhigh-profile relationshipswith Allen, Pacino andWarren Beatty, Keaton has never married (though she insists someday thatshe will walk down the aisle). She has two adopted children, daughterDexterand sonDuke.
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Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen
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Robert Duvall, who played Corleone familyconsigliereTom Hagen, had been acting in films for a decade before being cast inThe Godfather, including starring inTo Kill a Mockingbird(1962),Bullitt(1968),True Grit(1969),MAS*H(1970) andTHX 1138(1971).
Duvall was one of four actors — the others were Pacino, James Caan and even Brando — who flew to Coppola’s home to do private screen tests forThe Godfather.Duvall had previously worked with Coppola and Caan in the 1969 filmThe Rain People. Duvall returned for a larger role inThe Godfather Part II, but he famously turned down starring inThe Godfather Part IIIbecause of a pay dispute, and his character was written out of the film.
He received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor forThe Godfatherand was named Best Actor for 1983’sTender Mercies. He has continued appearing in acclaimed films, earning Oscar nominations forApocalypse Now(1979),The Great Santini(1979),The Apostle(1997),A Civil Action(1998) andThe Judge(2014).
Duvall has been married four times. He has been married to Argentine actress Luciana Pedraza since 2005.
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James Caan as Sonny Corleone
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As the fiery Sonny,James Caanwon over audiences — and received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor — with his role inThe Godfather.
He made a brief cameo in a flashback sequence in TheGodfather Part IIand appeared in several popular films in the ’70s, includingThe Gambler(1974),Funny Lady(1975),Rollerball(1975) andA Bridge Too Far(1978). Though he acted less frequently in the ’80s, he received critical acclaim for his role in the horror filmMisery(1990) and reached a whole new generation with his comedic turn in the Christmas classicElf(2003). He also had a leading role on NBC’sLas Vegasand the short-lived ABC sitcomBack in the Game. His last film was in 2021’sQueen Bees, costarringEllen Burstyn,Loretta DevineandChristopher Lloyd.
08of 08John Cazale as Fredo CorleoneCBS/Getty ; Abner Symons/WWD/Penske Media/GettyJohn Cazale, who played the black sheep of the Corleone family, Fredo, died of lung cancer at age 42 in 1978. Cazale appeared in just four other films aside fromThe GodfatherandThe Godfather Part II—The Conversation(1974),Dog Day Afternoon,The Deer Hunterand, via archival footage,The Godfather Part III. All six films were nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture.At the time of his death, Cazale was in arelationship with actressMeryl Streep, whom he starred alongside in the 1976 Shakespeare Festival productionMeasure for Measure.
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John Cazale as Fredo Corleone
CBS/Getty ; Abner Symons/WWD/Penske Media/Getty
John Cazale, who played the black sheep of the Corleone family, Fredo, died of lung cancer at age 42 in 1978. Cazale appeared in just four other films aside fromThe GodfatherandThe Godfather Part II—The Conversation(1974),Dog Day Afternoon,The Deer Hunterand, via archival footage,The Godfather Part III. All six films were nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture.
At the time of his death, Cazale was in arelationship with actressMeryl Streep, whom he starred alongside in the 1976 Shakespeare Festival productionMeasure for Measure.
source: people.com
