How Robert De Niro Almost Starred In ‘The Shining,’ ‘The Godfather,’ And Other Well-Known Films

Bobby D turned 71 this weekend, and instead of looking back at his best or even worst films, I’m highlighting ten Robert De Niro almost parts that were never meant to be. Most of these movies worked out to be great films without him, but for better or worse, they might have turned out very different had they gotten a dose of Robert De Niro’s trademark squint.

1. The Godfather (1972) — De Niro wasn’t even 30 when he auditioned for the part of Santino “Sonny” Corleone in the first installment of the Godfather series. He nailed it as young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, earning himself a “Supporting Actor” Oscar, but his take on Sonny didn’t quite have the psychotic appeal that James Caan brought to the role.

2. The Shining (1980) — Stanley Kubrick had considered De Niro for the part of inn-keeper Jack Torrance, but reportedly changed his mind after seeing him in Taxi Driver and went with his original choice, Jack Nicholson. It’s probably for the best that De Niro never ended up in the role. He revealed in a radio interview that when he watched the movie for the first time it gave him nightmares for a month.

3. The Usual Suspects (1995) — De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Al Pacino were all offered the part of detective Dave Kujan before it found its way to Chazz Palminteri. Pacino was initially interested, but turned it down because he had just played a cop in Heat, and De Niro and Walken turned it down for unknown reasons.

4. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) — This one isn’t too surprising, considering that back in 1970s and 80s Martin Scorsese and De Niro were BFFs. (Then Leo had to come between them.) The part eventually went to Willem Dafoe.

5. Home Alone (1990) — Director Christopher Columbus knew he wanted somebody from the Goodfellas cast in his holiday movie, and approached De Niro about playing Harry first. When De Niro passed, he of course sealed the deal with Joe Pesci.

6. Silence of the Lambs (1991) — It’s difficult to imagine anybody delivering the farva beans line with as much creepiness as Anthony Hopkins, but there were a number of well-known actors considered for the part. Christopher Lloyd, Robert Duvall, Jack Nicholson, and Robert De Niro were all considered as possible Hannibal Lecters. De Niro had of course previously worked with Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver and nearly had his chance to work with director Jonathan Demme when Demme considered directing Silver Linings Playbook nearly two decades later.

7. Gangs of New York (2002) — Martin Scorsese looked at both De Niro and Willem Dafoe to play the part of Bill the Butcher before deciding on Daniel Day-Lewis.

8. King Kong (2005) — Peter Jackson had been trying to make his three-hour ape movie since the 1990s, but like all Peter Jackson projects after Dead Alive — he needed a billion dollars to make it happen. De Niro was in talks with Jackson to play the male lead, but time marched on and when the wheels on the movie actually started to turn De Niro was long gone.

9. The Departed (2006) — Before giving the role of police captain Queenan to Martin Sheen, Scorsese had approached his buddy Bobby D about playing the part. De Niro expressed interest in the role, but was already committed at the time to another project:

“I wanted to. I wish I could’ve been able to, but I was preparing The Good Shepherd so much that I couldn’t take the time to. I was trying to figure a way to do it while I was preparing. It just didn’t seem possible.”

10. Edge of Darkness (2010) — De Niro had signed on and then abruptly quit the role that would eventually go to Ray Winstone. This was also not that long after Mel Gibson had that psychotic break, and it’s speculated that might have been the reason for De Niro’s departure. He left the Massachusetts set a few days into filming and simply said “sometimes things don’t work out; it’s called creative differences” as his reason for leaving.

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