The first three episodes of Paramount+'s The Offer have already aired, and audiences have begun discovering the behind-the-scenes story of making The Godfather. The series looks at the blood, sweat, tears and deals that went into making one of the greatest movies of all time - and it has a stellar cast to help the story behind the story get told.
Among the large ensemble cast portraying the minds that made The Godfather a reality, there is Matthew Goode as film producer Robert Evans, Burn Gorman as President of Paramount Pictures Charles Bluhdorn, and Colin Hanks as Buhdorn's right-hand man Barry Lapidus (who is also one of the few fictional characters portrayed in the series).
The prolific actors spoke to Screen Rant about what excited them most about The Offer, what gangster-related trivia was most surprising to learn, and which was the offer in their career that they simply couldn't refuse.
Screen Rant: Congrats on the show. I love hearing these never-before-heard stories. What were you most surprised to learn was 100% true?
Colin Hanks: I'll be honest. There are so many, it's kind of hard to pick. A million miracles go into making anything, and so it was a surprise to sort of hear just how many there were with The Godfather.
I think, if there was one that I was most shocked by, it was just how much the mafia was involved in the making of it. I won't get into the details of how, but just the fact that they were involved in any way? I had no idea. That in and of itself, I think, is pretty astounding.
But to be honest, there are so many it is kind of hard to choose.
Matthew Goode: Just how ticked off Sinatra was. He went so far out of his way to really try and pull the plug on the film via the use of Joe Colombo. And obviously, Mickey Cohen at the beginning of that.
Yeah, that was just one of the many, many things.
Burn Gorman: I liked the juicy actor things. For example, Marlon Brando has a cat in the initial scene in his house. And apparently, he just picked it up from outside; nobody knew it was gonna happen. The sound guy was annoyed because the purring was so loud that you couldn't hear the dialogue. Little juicy things like that.
And also, honestly, in terms of the freedom that Francis Coppola allowed his actors. The fact that he created this ethos of trying things, and the excellence of work that came out from that, is just so interesting as an actor to be aware of now.
Matthew Goode: There are a ton of secrets in this.
Burn Gorman: And true! A lot of them.
Matthew Goode: Yes, fact checked beyond belief.
I was in a fact-checking hole after every episode. I want to hear from each of you, besides The Offer, what was the offer you could not refuse? What's the offer that in your career, you're like, "I had to say yes to that?"
Matthew Goode: I'll tell you right now. As a father of three, this was the one - and as much as my wife does like me, I'm not gonna lie, she likes me out of the house some of the time. But I don't think she thought she was only going to see me two or three times within seven months. And so, this one. This job, 100%. I couldn't say no.
Because if I'd been given the opportunity, I would probably have been a scaredy cat and turned it down. Because he's such a famous guy. If I couldn't have worked my way out of it. I was very, very fortunate.
Burn Gorman: I'm glad you did.
Colin Hanks: Very rarely have I ever been in a position to say no. And if I was, it was probably a horrible mistake. I don't know, I've been very fortunate in that lately, I've been able to dabble in a whole bunch of different parts of the sandbox and have been able to explore a bunch of different things.
I have sort of come across this great revelation that if I am a little uncomfortable about the project, that probably means it's a good idea to do it. That's a scary thing to jump off the deep end of the pool like that. And so, I'm always just looking for that kind of edge now; that thing that gets me a little bit nervous.
Matthew Goode: And you're directing Tom Sizemore's next year?
Colin Hanks: I'm kind of just trying to do things that are different. I don't know. I think to a degree, lately, all of them.
The Offer Synopsis
After ditching his job at the Rand Corporation for a shot in Hollywood, Al Ruddy wins the job to produce Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel, The Godfather, for Paramount Pictures. Joe Colombo, a rising crime boss in the New York City Mafia, has a darker fate in mind for the picture.
Check back for our interviews with the rest of the cast soon.
The Offer episodes 1 - 3 are now streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes dropping every Thursday.