The producer, Paramount Pictures, initially disagreed with the actors selected by director Coppola. The producer strongly opposed Brando's role as Vito Corleone and hoped that Lawrence Oliver would play the role, but Oliver was unable to play due to health problems. A director of Paramount Pictures also suggested that Danny Thomas should play Vito Corleone. Later, after Coppola’s repeated pleading, the producer finally agreed to sign a contract with Brando, but only if the pay must be far away. It's lower than before, and you must participate in the audition and sign an agreement that will never delay the progress of the shooting. In the audition, Brando defeated rival Ernest Bogning and was recognized by the upper management of Paramount.
The producers wanted to ask Robert Redford or Ryan O’Neal to play Mike, while Coppola wanted to use strange faces that looked like Italians. Coppola took a fancy to the fledgling Al Pacino, but the producer thought that Pacino, who was only 1.70 meters tall, was not suitable to play Mike. Although Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty, Martin Sheen and James Kane all participated in the audition, Coppola insisted on fighting for the role for Pacino, and With the threat of withdrawing from filming, the producer had no choice but to compromise in the end.
In addition to the protagonist in the film, other roles are also fiercely competitive. Bruce Dunn, Paul Newman, and Steve McQueen were the first candidates to play Tom Hagen. Anthony Perkins and Mia Farrow also participated in auditions for the roles of Sonny and Kaye respectively. Robert De Niro participated in the audition for the four roles of Michael, Sonny, Carlo and Pauly, and got the role of Pauly, but Coppola chose to use him to complete the "deal" because the producer could not determine When should Al Pacino play Mike, Pacino has already signed to star in "My Bullet Will Turn". In order to get Pacino, Coppola must trade De Niro.
