The Godfather films remain some of the most iconic and influential works in American history, and their impact on Hollywood and the world of filmmaking in general is hard to overstate. With expert character work, incredible pacing, mature and emotionally complex storytelling, and non-stop technical genius, the first two Godfather films have, in particular, stood the test of time.
One of the most notable characters in the first two films is Fredo Corleone, the older brother of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone. Clearly not up to the task of taking over the family business from their father, Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone, Fredo remains a supporting character in Michael’s rise to power throughout The Godfather Part II. John Cazale, the actor who played Fredo in both films, holds a staggering and likely unbeatable Hollywood record — every single film that he ever appeared in was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Picture.
John Cazale Only Appeared In Five Films Total
The Incredibly Talented Actor Passed Away After Appearing In Five Best Picture Nominees
Born in 1935, John Cazale was only 42 years old when he tragically died of lung cancer in 1978. Before this, Cazale had been featured in a supporting role in several iconic films of the era. Of course, most notably, Cazale’s portrayal of Fredo Corleone, Michael Corleone’s older brother, was perhaps his finest work, but his inclusion in the brilliant Sidney Lumet film Dog Day Afternoon, the underrated Francis Ford Coppola drama The Conversation, and Michael Cimino’s harrowing Vietnam epic The Deer Hunter cemented him as one of the most talented performers of the 1970s. Starting his career in 1972’s The Godfather, Cazale had perhaps the most acclaimed Hollywood career in history.
Fredo Corleone is one of the most iconic supporting film characters of all time, but John Cazale’s performance as Stan, the pesky assistant to Gene Hackman’s Harry Caul in The Conversation is equally deserving of praise. His soulful, bizarre style of performance easily fits into the films he worked on, and despite being inexperienced in the realm of Hollywood productions, Cazale always seems right at home alongside some of the most acclaimed actors in Hollywood history. Having starred alongside Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Gene Hackman, Cazale’s ability to hold his own and garner respect and admiration from moviegoers is incredibly impressive. The fact that an actor as unknown as Cazale could stand side-by-side with giants like Pacino and De Niro is enough to put him in the history books, but his incredible filmography also displays his ability to pick excellent films to star in.
It’s unlikely that John Cazale simply unintentionally appeared in five Best Picture nominees over his short career. A much more likely explanation for his incredible lineup of film appearances is the fact that he was quite adept at picking the right films to appear in. With so many actors in contemporary Hollywood bogged down with appearances in mediocre streaming slop, throwaway Oscar-bait, and big-budget popcorn spectacle, an actor achieving as incredible a filmography as John Cazale seems practically impossible. Of course, if John Cazale hadn’t tragically passed away at a fairly young age, he would likely have eventually appeared in less successful films, but as it stands, his record remains untouchable.
John Cazale Made Every Movie He Appeared In Better
The Actor’s Tenacity and Genuine Nature Made His Characters Believable and Engaging
With Fredo Corleone as a perfect example, John Cazale’s ability to portray nuanced, engaging characters was his greatest asset. A true character actor, Cazale didn’t have the leading man charisma or looks of contemporaries like Robert De Niro or Al Pacino, but what he did have was a dedication to his craft and a willingness to play less likable characters. Fredo Corleone is one of the most complicated, tragic figures in the entire gangster film genre, and that pathos comes straight from Cazale’s expert performance. His relationship to Pacino’s Michael Corleone is complex and sorrowful, and even though their story together comes to a tragic end, audiences always wholeheartedly believe the familial connection between the two characters.
Likewise, John Cazale’s supporting turn in Dog Day Afternoon, a bank robbery film about two criminals struggling to keep control of several hostages in the wake of mounting police activity outside a bank, is one of the actor’s best performances. His unhinged interpretation of Sal positions him as a man in way over his head, ready to do anything to get away from the consequences of what he’s done, and the slowly-ticking time bomb that is his mental state acts as the perfect pressure builder for audiences. With Al Pacino’s lead character as a bizarre voice of reason in this stressful confrontation between robbers and police, Cazale’s Sal is the wild element — the thing that could throw everything into disarray. It’s an expert performance, and the role in the film is utterly vital to the success of the story as a whole.
The Conversation is one of Francis Ford Coppola’s most underrated projects, and it centers around a freelance surveillance agent who finds himself growing progressively more and more paranoid about his own work and how it relates to the people around him. John Cazale plays Stan, the assistant of the lead character, played by Gene Hackman. Stan helps Hackman’s Harry Caul feel better about his work and his own safety. Although Caul’s entire world is one of mistrust and paranoia, Stan is a person whom Caul can find some solace in — perhaps because he believes he can control Stan, or perhaps because he believes Stan is incapable of truly betraying his trust. It’s an engaging emotional back-and-forth between the two men, and it serves as a major thematic pillar of the film, in no small part due to Cazale’s incredible supporting performance.
John Cazale’s Incredible Record and Legacy Remain Intact To This Day
The Actor’s Incredible Oscars Record Will Likely Remain For The Foreseeable Future
There are plenty of actors and actresses who have appeared in numerous Best Picture nominees. Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson, and Tom Hanks are three of the actors with the most appearances in Best Picture nominees, with eleven, ten, and nine, respectively. Although each of these actors has technically appeared in more Best Picture nominees than John Cazale, their total number of film appearances far exceeds his. Robert De Niro has been consistently working since the 1960s, and although he has appeared in countless classics, he has also starred in his fair share of mediocre projects. The same goes for Tom Hanks and Jack Nicholson, but the same cannot be said for John Cazale. The late actor’s record would perhaps be less impressive if he were to have appeared in several Best Picture nominees that were universally considered as less-than-stellar, as some Oscar-nominated films often are, but Cazale’s lineup of films is nearly universally considered as excellent across the board.
Even a film that Cazale appeared in via archive footage — 1990’s The Godfather Part III, was nominated for Best Picture. That film, universally considered as the weakest of the Godfather films, is still much better than many viewers give it credit for, and its impact has been felt in the crime and gangster genre for decades. The fact that a film in which Cazale only technically appears still got nominated for Best Picture is a hilarious cherry on top of the already prestigious honor of his original work’s Oscar recognition. It’s fair to say that John Cazale’s record will remain for decades to come, with even the brightest up-and-coming actors of the modern era unable to escape appearances in less-than-stellar pictures.
With films like Dog Day Afternoon, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, and The Deer Hunter as the lasting legacy of his artistry, it’s fair to say that John Cazale should be considered as one of the most important and most influential character actors in Hollywood history, and his name should be as well-known as any of the all-time greatest American actors. Although his career was tragically cut short, John Cazale’s legacy of quality acting, incredible project choices, and sincere dedication to the art of filmmaking remains a shining example for anyone interested in the wonderful world of cinema. Cazale’s career has been an inspiration to countless creatives over the years, even if his body of work remains small.
