In The Godfather (1972), Francis Coppola hired former wrestler Lenny Montana to play the role of Luca Brasi, one of Don Corleone’s henchmen, a particularly ruthless killer.
Lenny Montana is not Coppola’s first choice. Another actor has already been hired, but his unexpected death forces the director to recast the role.
Lenny Montana has the physique to play Luca Brasi, but not quite the skills. That’s not a professional actor.
During the filming of his first scene opposite Marlon Brando in the role of Don Corleone, Montana completely loses his temper.
In this sequence, Luca Brasi appears in front of the godfather to thank him for inviting him to his daughter’s wedding. He is very honored by the attention that Don Corleone gives him, because he reveres him, and wants to thank him in person by offering him a large sum of money, as is the custom.
However, the filming of this scene did not go at all as planned. Very impressed to find himself facing Brando, cinema legend, Lenny Montana does not succeed in saying his text in a natural way. He has memory lapses and makes mistakes in every take.
Coppola understands that he won’t be able to get a better performance from the former wrestler and decides to completely rethink the scene between Corleone and Luca Brasi.
Instead of presenting Brasi as an imperturbable killer, the director chose to retain the clumsiness of Lenny Montana and use his vulnerability to emphasize the power and aura of Don Corleone, the godfather who makes even the worst killers shudder. of the mafia.
But for Luca Brasi’s reaction to be understandable, Coppola had a genius idea: he decided to film Lenny Montanta rehearsing his lines before filming his face to face with Brando. And he will use this short sequence as if it were Luca Brasi’s character rehearsing what he is going to say to the godfather.
Luka Brasi Practicing His Speech
This little scene not only helps convey the fact that Lenny Montana cannot act, but it also enriches the dynamic between the two characters.