Al Pacino Reveals Why He Turned Down Role That Made Harrison Ford a Star

When we think of “Star Wars,” Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia, and Harrison Ford’s Han Solo instantly come to mind. But what if Kurt Russell had played Luke? Or a 14-year-old Jodie Foster had played Leia? What if Al Pacino had played Han?

While Russell auditioned for Luke, he told USA Today that he opted to star in a TV series instead. Foster admitted to Total Film in 2005 that she was offered the role of Leia, but turned it down. And Pacino? He was offered the role of Han, but declined because the story didn’t make sense to him.

Al Pacino Turned Down the Role of Han Solo: ‘I Don’t Understand It’

While we know that there were multiple people considered for Han Solo, it’s hard to imagine anyone else but Ford. But it’s even more difficult to think that someone turned down the role, considering how big the “Star Wars” franchise has gotten. But Al Pacino did just that.

“I said, ‘I think I’m in the mood to make Harrison Ford a career,'” Pacino joked to Entertainment Weekly when asked about the role. He then went on to explain that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas gave him the script while he was doing a show on Broadway. After reading it, he thought to himself, “I don’t understand it,” he admitted.

“[I thought], I must be out of space myself,” he joked. “But 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 decided.

So instead, we got Harrison Ford, who perfectly embodied the stubborn, cynical, rakish smuggler. And every “Star Wars” fan owes a small debt of gratitude to Pacino for that.

Burt Reynolds Was Also Offered the Role

While we’re all happy that Pacino chose not to take the role of Han Solo, we know one other big name actor was also offered the role: Burt Reynolds. The actor revealed to Business Insider in 2016 that he turned it down.

“I just didn’t want to play that kind of role at the time,” he said. “Now I regret it. I wish I would have done it.” Intead, Reynolds took the role of “Smokey and the Bandit,” a role that he would be associated with the rest of his life.