Al Pacino Explains Why He Passed on Playing Han Solo in STAR WARS and Jokes He "Gave Harrison Ford a Career"

It’s a well-known fact that one of the original cast hopefuls for Star Wars was Al Pacino. Director George Lucas wanted Pacino in the role of Han Solo, but the young filmmaker was making something that wasn’t nearly as well known and established as it is today. Not everyone was willing to gamble on this space-set film in a galaxy far far away. And now Pacino is talking about how it all went down.

Variety reports that during a talk this week at The 92nd Street Y in New York, the Oscar winner recalled being offered the role of Han Solo in Star Wars, saying:

“Well, I turned down ‘Star Wars.’ When I first came up, I was the new kid on the block, you know what happens when you first become famous. It’s like, ‘Give it to Al.’ They’d give me Queen Elizabeth to play. They gave me a script called ‘Star Wars.’ … They offered me so much money. I don’t understand it. I read it. … So I said I couldn’t do it. I gave Harrison Ford a career.”

The Ford comment was a joke, and clearly a stretch, but it certainly did help to pave the way for Ford to become the beloved character we all know today.

Next up, Pacino will star in a Michael Redford-directed film adaptation of the Shakespeare classic King Lear. It was originally announced in 2018. Pacino said that he and writer Bernard Rose “are coming to a place when we have a script,” and it will likely start shooting next year.