Based on the best-selling book written by Mario Puzo, The Godfather was released in 1972 to overwhelming critical acclaim and successful box office performance. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather focuses on the Corleone mafia crime family led by patriarch Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). When Vito is wounded during an assassination attempt, his youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) becomes the new Don of the Corleone clan, proving to be even more cunning and ruthless than his father. Over the last 50 years, The Godfather has gone on to be praised as one of the greatest films of all time, a crime classic that is often mimicked but never beaten.
With a new home entertainment release on the horizon in celebration of the film's 50th anniversary, as well as the new Paramount+ series The Offer presenting a dramatization of the making of The Godfather, here is a cast and character guide for one of the greatest movies of all time.
Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone
The patriarch of the Corleone family, Vito Andolini first came to America from his homeland of Corleone, Sicily, at the age of 10 years old. As a young man in Little Italy, New York, the now named Vito Corleone rose the ranks of the organized crime world to become the Don of the most powerful Italian mafia family in the country.
Marlon Brando is one of the most significant actors in the history of cinema, influencing a new generation of thespians with his performances in A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront. Passing away in 2004, Brando left behind a legacy that was equally legendary and controversial.
Al Pacino as Michael Corleone
The youngest son of the Corleone family and a veteran of WWII, Michael would become the eventual successor to his father Vito. Even though Michael nor his father envisioned he would take part in the “family business”, Michael would prove to be a leader of Machiavellian cunning and cold-blooded violence.
Al Pacino has established a legacy as one of America’s great screen actors with iconic performances in The Godfather films, Scarface, and Scent of a Woman. Pacino has also won acclaim on the stage and TV, making him one of a select number to win the Triple Crown of Acting.
James Caan as Sonny Corleone
Vito’s eldest son Sonny also had the fieriest temperament and quickest trigger finger. His time as the underboss of the Corleone crime family often led to rash and impulsive decisions that eventuated in his own bombastic death, one of the greatest in cinema history.
James Caan is a New York-born character actor whose career featured several critically acclaimed highs in films such as Thief and Misery. While he is known more for his tough-guy roles, Caan has at times surprised audiences and critics alike with turns in the musical Hello Dolly and Christmas classic Elf.
Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen
Adopted by the Corleone family at a young age, Tom Hagen would go on to become the family lawyer and consigliere to Don Vito, often straddling the line between the family’s legitimate and criminal business worlds. Although he was not fully integrated into the Corleone mafia family due to his Irish blood, Hagen nevertheless played a vital role in the success of the Corleones.
Since his 1962 big-screen debut in To Kill a Mockingbird, California-born actor Robert Duvall has proven to be a prolific and magnetic force on the screen, with classic performances in Apocalypse Now, Tender Mercies, and The Apostle to his name.
Diane Keaton as Kay Adams-Corleone
The second wife of Michael Corleone, Kay Adams represents the viewers' perspective as an outsider finding her way through a culture that is foreign in every way yet is also drawn to its magnetic allure of tradition and loyalty.
Diane Keaton is an American actress who made a name for herself in quirky comic roles such as Annie Hall, as well as sprawling dramas such as Reds, proving to be one of the most revered and prolific actors of her generation.
Richard S. Castellano as Peter Clemenza
A loyal captain to the Corleone crime family, Peter Clemenza proves to be a key character in the Godfather story. This is especially seen in a vital plot point when Clemenza instructs Michael on how to execute a man, leading to the now infamous “Sollozzo scene” in which Michael slays a drug kingpin and a corrupt police officer.
The role of Clemenza led to an Oscar nomination for Richard S. Castellano, a long-time New York-based character actor. Unfortunately, a falling out with director Francis Ford Coppola resulted in Castellano not reprising his character in The Godfather Part II.
John Cazale as Fredo Corleone
The second son of Vito Corleone, Fredo developed a reputation as the weaker and less intelligent of the Corleone brothers. This in turn led to a bitterness on his part that had drastic consequences.
During his very brief time in front of the screen before his unfortunate passing, John Cazale established a reputation as a character actor extraordinaire with heralded performances in Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter.
Abe Vigoda as Salvatore Tessio
Much like Clemenza, the wiry Salvatore Tessio is introduced as a loyal captain to Don Vito Corleone, with their association beginning in 1917 Little Italy where the trio made a name for themselves as ambitious small-time hoods. After Vito’s attempted assassination, Tessio’s loyalty is questioned by Michael, leading to a crossroads moment for the ambitious mafia captain that would seal his fate.
Abe Vigoda was a prolific name in cinema and TV, with the Brooklyn native achieving his big break as Tessio in The Godfather. He would gain further fame as grumpy detective Phil Fish in the 1970s sitcom Barney Miller and its spinoff Fish.
Talia Shire as Connie Corleone
The only daughter of Vito Corleone, the timid Connie Corleone plays a vital part in The Godfather with her wedding the first main set piece of the film. Later her abuse at the hands of her husband Carlo sets off a chain of events that would lead to one of the most notorious death scenes in movie history.
Talia Shire made her mark as an Oscar-nominated actress during the 1970s with her roles as Connie in The Godfather and as Adrian in the Rocky series. Shire is also a part of the Coppola family tree as the sister of The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola, mother of Jason Schwartzman, and aunt to Nicolas Cage.
Gianni Russo as Carlo Rizzi
The first appearance of Carlo Rizzi is one of celebration during his lavish Sicilian wedding to Connie Corleone. It does not take long for that sheen to disappear when we witness Carlo’s brutality towards Connie during unflinching scenes of domestic violence, which results in hot-headed Sonny Corleone laying down an epic beating on Carlo in the streets of New York City.
Gianni Russo’s reputation as an on-screen tough man is one that is matched by his exploits off the screen, which included known associations with infamous mafia figures.
Al Lettieri as Virgil “The Turk” Sollozzo
A heroin kingpin looking to gain the backing of New York’s five mafia families, Virgil “The Turk” Sollozzo finds a roadblock in the form of Vito Corleone, who views the drug trade as bad for business. When Sollozzo attempts to have Vito assassinated, it begins a chain of events that sees Michael Corleone taking the reins and placing Sollozzo in his crosshairs.
An Italian American actor whose best-known role is playing Sollozzo in The Godfather, Al Lettieri also made a mark as menacing villainous characters in The Getaway and Mr. Majestyk before his unfortunate death in 1975.