Robert Duvall Revealed Why He Refused to Do ‘The Godfather Part III’ Despite Loving the Series 

Robert Duvall starred in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, two films he said he enjoyed immensely. While his character, Tom Hagen, could have appeared in the third film, Duvall chose not to reprise his role in the series. He shared why he decided not to be a part of the final chapter in the epic crime trilogy. 

Robert Duvall shared why he wouldn’t appear in ‘The Godfather Part III’

In 1974, Duvall reprised his role as Tom Hagen in The Godfather Part II. He said that he considered himself a fan of the films, and not just because of his role in them.

“Sometimes I’ll be flipping the channels and come across The Godfather or The Godfather II,” he told Esquire. “I’ll say to myself, Let me watch five minutes. Coppola made them so beautifully that I end up watching the whole thing.”

Director Francis Ford Coppola initially intended for Duvall to appear in the third film. The actor decided against it, though.

“Coppola always wanted my mother’s crab-cake recipe. He came to my house to talk about doing Godfather III, and I wrote it down for him,” he said. “But I decided not to do Godfather III.”

He explained that the salary gap between himself and Al Pacino was too wide. Duvall didn’t expect to be paid the same amount as Pacino, but he wanted more money.

“It boiled down to money,” he said. “If you’re gonna pay Pacino twice what you pay me, fine. But five times? Come on, guys.”

Duvall said Coppola continued to contact him about the role, but he believed his persistence had more to do with the crab cake recipe than the film.

“The thing is, when Coppola left my house, he forgot to take my mother’s crab-cake recipe,” Duvall said. “He kept calling, but I think it was more for the recipe.”