Veteran Hollywood star Al Pacino has revealed that he decided to say no to the lead role of Captain Benjamin Willard in "Apocalypse Now" because he was not in a "right space".
Director Francis Ford Coppola had approached Pacino to star in the movie but he turned it down because he did not want to go on a location shoot to Philippines.
''I just wasn't ready to do it. I was at a certain point in my life and not in the right space for going away and doing a movie like that," Pacino told Empire magazine.
''I remember Coppola saying at the time, 'Pacino won't do a film unless you do it at his house.' I said, 'Yes, come over to my place. We can do 'Apocalypse Now' here. Look, we'll get somewhere with it," he added.
After Pacino declined, Coppola went on to cast Martin Sheen in what became a career defining performance for the actor.
Pacino and Coppola have worked together on his "Godfather" trilogy, starring as Mafia gangster Michael Corleone in the 1972, 1974 and 1990 movies.