Al Pacino was ‘offered a fortune’ to play iconic Star Wars character – but didn’t ‘understand’ the script

‘I can't play something if I don't speak the language,’ said the acclaimed actor

Al Pacino has said he was offered a “fortune” to play Han Solo in the original Star Wars but turned it down as he didn’t “understand” it.

The award-winning actor, known for his roles in Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy, as well as films such as Heat and Scarface, was offered the part in the mid-1970s after he had appeared in the second Godfather film.

The part of roguish space pilot Han Solo ultimately went to Harrison Ford and launched him to global stardom. The character would go on to become one of the most beloved in the history of cinema, returning in several Star Wars sequels and, in 2018, becoming the focus of a prequel film starring Alden Ehrenreich.

Speaking about the decision to turn down Star Wars (1977), Pacino, 85, reminisced to Entertainment Weekly about his association with the “Movie Brats” – an unofficial group of pioneering New Hollywood filmmakers that included Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Brian De Palma, Martin Scorsese and Star Wars creator George Lucas.

“They were real idealists coming into the Seventies with great films all over the globe,” he said.

“So I loved their work, but I was doing a show on Broadway at the time, and they handed me this script, and I thought, I don't understand,” Pacino continued, referring to Lucas’s Star Wars screenplay. “[I thought], I must be out of space myself.”

Pacino struggled to comprehend the script and sought advice from a trusted friend before ultimately turning down the role.

Al Pacino pictured in 2024 (Getty Images)

"I looked at this thing and I sent it to Charlie Loughton, my friend and mentor, actually. I said, ‘What do you make of this?’ He was pretty wise and he said, ‘I don't get it, Al. I dunno. I don't get it.’ I said, ‘Well, I don't either; what are we going to do?’

“They offered me a fortune, but I don't know. No, I can't play something if I don't speak the language,” he added.

Nonetheless, Pacino seems to have little cause for regret and joked about his own part in propelling Ford to superstardom.

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"I said, 'I think I'm in the mood to make Harrison Ford a career,'” he quipped.

Pacino can currently be seen in The Ritual, an exorcism horror also starring Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens.