Washington DC [US], October 6 : Actress and film producer Michelle Pfeiffer recalled her audition process for Brian De Palma's directorial crime drama 'Scarface', also starring Al Pacino, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
She shared the moment when Pacino was convinced she was perfect for the role of Elvira in the 1983 film.
She recently appeared on the SmartLess podcast, hosted by Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes, and recalled being part of the movie. Michelle said that while the filmmaker wanted her for the part, Pacino didn't initially feel the same way.
"Al will admit this," she said, "but he didn't really want me for the part," as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.
She recalled meeting De Palma and the casting director and failing her initial audition for the film. However, "over the course of two months, I just got worse and worse and worse, because I'm just afraid. And by the end, I'm bad."
Pfeiffer admitted she didn't "blame" Pacino for his initial reaction. "He just was like, 'She's bad.' And Brian finally comes to me and says, 'You know, doll, it's just not gonna work out. I'm like, 'I know, man. I'm sorry.' Because Brian really wanted me," she said, as per the outlet.
"As disappointed as I was," the ace star continued, "I was so happy to be done with it. So, like, at least a month goes by, and I get a call, they want to bring me in to screen test. So I show up and I don't even give a shit, 'cause I know I'm not getting this part."
Pfeiffer recalled that the "restaurant scene where I explode at the end," ended up being "my best work of the film."
"I swipe the table of the dishes and glasses break, the dishes break, cut. There's blood everywhere. They all run over to me, to see where I've cut myself. Well, I didn't cut me. I cut Al," she recalled, adding that she "cut him in the finger or something," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"I thought, 'Well, there goes that part.' But actually, I think that was the day [Pacino] was like, 'Yeah, yeah. I think, yeah, she's not bad,'" Pfeiffer added.
The 1983 crime classic follows determined, criminal-minded Cuban immigrant Tony Montana (Pacino), who becomes the biggest drug smuggler in Miami and is eventually undone by his own drug addiction. Elvira was Tony's troubled wife, a drug-addicted socialite, who was the former lover of his boss, Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia), according to The Hollywood Reporter.