In his memoir, The Kid Stays in the Picture, producer Robert Evans reveals that he had two actors in mind for the role of Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 film The Godfather: Ryan O'Neal and Robert Redford.
O'Neal was Evans's first choice, butCoppola pushed for Al Pacino, who had already been cast as Sonny Corleone. Evans eventually relented, and Pacino gave one of the most iconic performances in movie history.
Redford, meanwhile, turned down the role because he didn't want to be typecast as a gangster. He later told Evans that it was one of the biggest mistakes of his career.