Francis Ford Coppola’s notes reveal he wanted Laurence Olivier, not Marlon Brando, to star in Godfather

FRANCIS Ford Coppola’s handwritten casting notes reveal his surprising first choice to play Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather.

Marlon Brando in scene from 1972 film 'The Godfather'. Pic. Supplied

MARLON Brando’s iconic performance as Mafia boss Don Vito Corleone in the Godfather trilogy is perhaps one of the most acclaimed of all time.

But if director Francis Ford Coppola had stuck to his original plan, Brando wouldn’t have been in the films at all.

Coppola’s handwritten casting notes have revealed that the director had originally wanted to cast legendary British actor Laurence Olivier in the role, before ultimately giving the nod to Brando.

But Olivier wasn’t the only one on Coppola’s list; strangely, he also had his eye on Frank de Kova as a possible mafia don (De Kova, of course, is most famous for his turn as Chief Wild Eagle in ’60s comedy TV show F Troop).

Perfect casting ... Left to Right, James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and John Cazale in <i>The Godfather</i>.

Less surprising is the admission that Coppola considered casting Robert De Niro in the role of Michael Corleone (which was ultimately played by Al Pacino).

De Niro, of course, later played the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II and nabbed an Oscar for his performance.

Dustin Hoffman was also considered for the role as the Don’s son, as was James Caan (who ended up in the films as Sonny Corleone).

Coppola also considered casting Enter The Dragon star John Saxon and Colombo star Peter Falk in the role of Sonny, before deciding on Caan.

You talkin’ to me? ... Robert De Niro was the first choice to play Michael Corleone, a role Al Pacino made his own in<i> The Godfather. </i>

Tom Hagen, the role that made Robert Duvall famous, could have gone to future Blues Brothers favourite Ben Piazza or Peter Donat, who later appeared in The Godfather Part II.

Ultimately, Coppola’s cast ended up doing pretty well, given the film took home three Oscars and is now ranked as the second greatest film in American cinema by the American Film Institute, behind Citizen Kane.

Originally published as Francis Ford Coppola’s notes reveal he wanted Laurence Olivier, not Marlon Brando, to star in Godfather