The Godfather has never been a godfather.
At least, he is pretty sure that is the case.
One of the biggest film stars of all time, Al Pacino is sitting in a suite in a Beverly Hills hotel, looking surprised at the idea that this is an honour which has passed him by.
“I’m not convinced, but I don’t hang with people who’d ask me that, I guess,” he muses.
“I don’t remember anybody asking me that.”
If you are Al Pacino’s godchild and he has forgotten, as his character Michael Corleone famously said in The Godfather, “it’s not personal.”
Pacino has spent a lot of time recently looking back over his life, because at the age of 84, the star of films including Dog Day Afternoon, Heat and The Irishman has written his autobiography, titled Sonny Boy, after what his mother called him.
He explains that “part of the reason” he wanted to commit his life to paper was becoming a father for a fourth time last year – to a boy, who is now 16 months old, called Roman.
The book is a way of guaranteeing that the baby will have the opportunity to learn about his father’s story.
“I want to be around for this child. And I hope I am,” he shares.
“I hope I stay healthy, and he knows who his dad is, of course.”