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Bernard King
© Wendell Cruz – USA TODAY Sports
As soon as Bernard King set foot in the NBA, he showed off his scoring prowess. He not only caught the attention of his peers, he also attracted Hollywood agents who were constantly on the lookout for acting talent. They obviously thought King had a lot of potential because he was cast in the 1979 comedy “Fast Break” and was paid more than Al Pacino for his role in “The Godfather.”
quick break
During the summer following his stellar rookie season, King was approached by a producer who was working on “Fast Break.” The producer told King to do a reading which he accepted without much hesitation. He found himself in a room of about fifty actors, all waiting for their audition. Shortly after, King learned that he had landed the role of a pool player named Hustler.
Throughout production, King was housed in an apartment in Beverley Hills, where he received a weekly food allowance.
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“$500 a week just to eat. We are in 1978. How much money does that represent today?said King, per wbur.
That’s about $2,000 a week in today’s money. It’s a lucrative sum considering it’s just meant to be for food. But King received more money and benefits than the allowance. He also got a car on top of his salary for the whole movie.
“I drive a Mercedes-Benz convertible, which they paid for, and they paid me $25,000. What the hell? Now, I learned several years later, I did more than Al Pacino when I shot the first film “The Godfather”. Yeah,King laughs.
Al Pacino
Various reports reveal that Pacino actually received $35,000 for playing Michael Corleone in “The Godfather.” So technically Pacino had a higher salary than King. However, Pacino had no allowance or car. And so, if you add up all the benefits King received, he definitely did more than the Hollywood icon.
To be fair to Pacino, he wasn’t famous at the time. Additionally, studio executives weren’t keen on casting Pacino, saying he was too short for the role. It wasn’t until director Francis Ford Coppola showed raw footage of Pacino’s portrayal that the studios agreed. But during the filming itself, Pacino claimed he was uncomfortable. He felt that he was still not accepted by the production.
After the film, King focused on basketball, where he continued to establish himself as one of the top scorers. Pacino, for his part, shot to fame after “The Godfather.” Everything went pretty well for the two legends.