Scarface: Robert de Niro almost starred in iconic mob film instead of Al Pacino

Both men play in Scorsese's The Irishman

It’s hard to imagine Scarface without Al Pacino – but Robert de Niro almost starred in the iconic mob film instead of his friend and fellow actor.

Pacino and De Niro discussed their respective careers and enduring friendship during a conversation with GQ, in which both men appear on the magazine’s Men of the Year issue.

“We were on the street one night outside of Cafe Centro or something... This is how I remember it. I could be wrong,” De Niro said.

“We were talking about Scarface and you were considering who to do it – what director. And I was saying ‘You should really do it with Brian [de Palma]’, of the choices that you had.

“And I said: ‘If you don’t do it, I’m going to do it.’”

Pacino further explained that “Marty and Bob”, aka Martin Sorcese and Robert de Niro, were playing with the idea of teaming up for their own remake of the 1932 Scarface.

Ultimately, though, Pacino and De Palma worked with screenwriter Oliver Stone on the 1983 movie, in which Pacino portrays the fictional Cuban refugee Tony Montana.

De Niro and Pacino both star in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, which will be released on Netflix on 27 November in the US and in the UK.