“There was something more”: Oscar Winner Diane Keaton Still Can’t Believe Why The Godfather Director Cast Her When She Was Only 26
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather proved to be a significant breakthrough in Diane Keaton’s Hollywood journey. Over the years, Diane Keaton has admitted that she felt miscast in The Godfather though the movie, her second, offers compelling evidence that she wasn’t. In his recent Ask Me Anything session, legendary filmmaker, Francis Ford Coppola answering Keaton’s question went on to why he made certain casting choices for The Godfather.
Diane Keaton Asks The Godfather Director Why He Cast Her
This Friday, The Godfather director, Francis Ford Coppola hosted an AMA on his Instagram stories, inviting fans and followers to ask him questions about his work and his life. Among the many questions that popped up for the director, there was one that caught everyone’s attention and it was from none other than Diane Keaton, who played Kay Adams-Corleone, the wife of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone, in The Godfather. The Academy Award winner asked Coppola, “Why on Earth did you choose me for The Godfather?!!”
Coppola explained his answer and casting saying, “I chose you because although you were to play the more straight/vanilla wife, there was something more about you,” he wrote. “Deeper, funnier, and very interesting (I was right).”
He then shared the instance when he first saw Keaton, “I was invited by Fred Astaire to accompany him to see Hair,” Coppola added. “Which he couldn’t make ‘hide nor hair’ out of. You were in it, and I remember your beautiful singing voice.” The director also went on to answer other questions pertaining to his favorite films and if there would be a Godfather IV, which is a no.
The Godfather Role Was An Offer Diane Keaton Could Not Refuse
For actress Diane Keaton, the offer to star in the iconic blockbuster, The Godfather was so compelling that she could not refuse despite the fact that she hadn’t read author Mario Puzo’s book on which the movie is based before auditioning for her role in the film. Sources also state that states that Keaton also raved about working opposite Pacino, noting that “the studio didn’t want Al Pacino at all” and only cast him after the pair had a chemistry reading together.
Keaton who played Kay Adams-Corleone, the wife of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone in the film said, “I think the kindest thing that someone’s ever done for me is that I got cast to be in ‘The Godfather’ and I didn’t even read it. I didn’t know a single thing. I just was going around auditioning. I think that was amazing for me. And then I had to kind of read the book.” Diane Keaton later reprised the role in the 1974 and 1990 sequels of the film.
Also, read- Godfather Star James Caan’s Eldest Son Scott Wants To Hijack Late Actor’s $20M Estate, Leave Rest of His 4 Kids Penniless.
Source: Instagram
