Veteran actor Al Pacino recently revealed he once turned down a role in the original Star Wars film. Speaking about the missed opportunity, Pacino said he didn’t understand the script at the time—even though he was offered a huge sum of money.
Recalling the moment, Pacino said, “I think I helped make Harrison Ford a star.” He visited the American Zoetrope offices, run by George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, but felt unsure about the sci-fi film’s story. “They gave me the script, and I just didn’t get it,” he said. Pacino even asked his mentor, Charlie Loughton, for advice. “He didn’t get it either,” Pacino added, laughing.
Pacino turned down the offer, saying, “I can’t play something I don’t understand.”
Meanwhile, the 84-year-old actor is set to return to the big screen in Dead Man’s Wire, a hostage thriller directed by Gus Van Sant. The film is based on the true story of Tony Kiritsis, who took a mortgage company president hostage in 1977 using a shotgun wired to his neck.
The movie features an ensemble cast including Bill Skarsgard, Colman Domingo, Dacre Montgomery, Myha’la, and Cary Elwes. The screenplay is written by Austin Kolodney.
This will be Pacino’s first project with Van Sant, known for Good Will Hunting and Milk. Pacino, who won an Oscar for Scent of a Woman, was last seen in Knox Goes Away. Fans are excited to see him return in this intense, true-crime drama.