"Can't play something if I don't speak the language": Al Pacino finally reveals why he rejected Han Solo's role in Star Wars

Legendary actor Al Pacino finally opens up about his reason for rejecting Han Solo's role in the epic franchise, Star Wars.

While in a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, the veteran actor reveals the reason behind it, mentioning:

"No, I can't play something if I don't speak the language.'"

In the Star Wars film franchise, the character of Han Solo was ultimately portrayed by the iconic Harrison Ford.

Let us find out more about what Al Pacino revealed regarding his reason for rejecting Han Solo's role in Star Wars.

"I must be out of space myself", says Al Pacino, recalling the reason behind rejecting the role of Han Solo in Star Wars

Al Pacino joined Entertainment Weekly for an interview along with Dan Stevens from their newest film, The Ritual. In the interview, the Oscar-winning actor revealed his reason for not joining the Star Wars franchise, for the role of Han Solo.

Al Pacino mentions it on a light-hearted note by saying:

"I said, 'I think I'm in the mood to make Harrison Ford a career,'"

The actor then proceeded to reminisce about the iconic filmmakers from the 1960s to the 1970s. Al Pacino mentioned Zoetrope, the film production company created by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. He talked about his close association with them, even before he became a part of the classic The Godfather series, as he says:

"Zoetrope started in San Francisco with Spielberg and De Palma and Francis Coppola, and Scorsese,"

"They were in the late-'60s making this. They were real idealists coming into the '70s with great films all over the globe. So it was a wonderful place that I actually saw, I went to the building and everything before I did Godfather with them."

And then Al Pacino talks about his response when he was offered the role of Han Solo in Star Wars. He mentioned that he was involved in a Broadway theater production at that time. As soon as he received the script of the film, Al Pacino felt he was not able to comprehend it, as he reveals:

"So I loved their work, but I was doing a show on Broadway at the time, and they handed me this script, and I thought, I don't understand."

"[I thought], I must be out of space myself,"

Then, upon consulting Al Pacino's confidante, Charlie Laughton, his friend also responded in a similar way to Al Pacino. He also revealed that the makers of Star Wars offered him big bucks. However, Al Pacino did not agree to take the role. He adds:

"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.'"

However, ultimately, as we all know, Harrison Ford stepped in and essayed the role of Han Solo in Star Wars. Ford has appeared in a number of films in the franchise, including Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and the latest being, The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

Both Al Pacino and Harrison Ford proceeded to become two of the biggest actors in Hollywood, as Al Pacino has had a mega-illustrious career as well.

This year, Ford has been seen as President Thaddeus a.k.a. Red Hulk in the MCU's Captain America: Brave New World. Al Pacino, too, stars in the freshest release, The Ritual. The horror film was released on 6th June 2025.

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Also read: How to watch Star Wars movies in order?

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