Was Al Pacino almost cast as Han Solo?(Photo Credit – YouTube)

This decision would have been pure gold, but Al Pacino turned it down. “It was mine for the taking, but I didn’t understand the script.” And just like that, one of cinema’s most iconic roles slipped through Pacino’s fingers.

It was the mid-’70s, and Pacino’s career had skyrocketed after The Godfather. In his memoir Sonny Boy, he talks about how the fame from Michael Corleone followed him everywhere. Then, out of nowhere, Star Wars called. “After The Godfather, they would have let me play anything,” he said. But when George Lucas handed him the script, Pacino couldn’t understand it. So, what did he do? Passed it to his acting teacher, Charlie Laughton. He couldn’t figure it out either. The verdict? Pacino just said, “I didn’t do it.”

Enter Harrison Ford, the...