'The Offer' Star Giovanni Ribisi: Joe Colombo Was "Terrified" of 'The Godfather' (EXCLUSIVE)

Giovanni Ribisi plays mobster Joe Colombo in 'The Offer' and informed 'Distractify' how Colombo turned into buddies with 'The Godfather' producer Al Ruddy.

If Joe Colombo had gotten his approach, The Godfather would never have been made. That's the story instructed in Paramount Plus's new miniseries The Offer, which options Giovanni Ribisi because the mafia boss. Colombo vehemently protested the making of the film — until he and producer Al Ruddy had been ready to broker a compromise, and subsequently become friends.

Ribisi instructed Distractify why Colombo was so opposed to The Godfather to start with, and how Ruddy was ready to turn him from a fierce enemy into a friend. Plus, be told in regards to the surprising source that helped Ribisi get ready for his position.

How Joe Colombo just about stopped 'The Godfather.'

Joe Colombo wasn't a typical mafia boss; he founded the Italian American Civil Rights League in 1970 to protest perceived harassment by govt government. When Paramount Pictures deliberate to conform Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather into a movie, Colombo led opposition to the movie and its portrayal of Italian Americans.

"I think that's part of why he felt he ended up where he did, and the life that he chose to lead, because there was a lot of discrimination against Italians and Italian Americans coming over. I think it was still going on for him at that period," Ribisi informed Distractify. "He brought a lot of people together and sort of instilled and exemplified values that were carried through the Italian American culture."

"Then suddenly there's this, from his perspective at the time, sensational book The Godfather. It's been a number one New York Times bestseller for however many weeks, and Paramount's going to make a movie," Ribisi continued. "I think it terrified him, and he was adamantly against it."

AI Ruddy had to literally sit down down with Colombo and negotiate with him over the production of The Godfather, making compromises reminiscent of getting rid of the phrases "mafia" and "cosa nostra" from the film's script to be able to achieve the League's cooperation. Without Colombo granting that cooperation, The Godfather might never had been produced.

"That was his intention, definitely," Ribisi mentioned. "Not only did [Ruddy] meet with him and turn him around, but he gained his support and became friends with him."

One of the most interesting moments of The Offer attracts a parallel between a scene in The Godfather and a pivotal second in Colombo's mob profession. In the guide and the movie, Michael Corleone confronts corrupt police captain McCluskey and Sollozzo in a restaurant. In actual existence, Colombo had a identical disagreement with any person he was meant to kill, however the disagreement ended differently.

"Joe Colombo was charged with assassinating one mob boss. [But] he decided not to," Ribisi printed. "He showed up to do the job, and he confronted the person he was going to victimize and told them about it. It was kind of this interesting moment, because from there he became a mob boss himself. He was the youngest person to have ever become a mob boss, at that time."

How Joe Colombo's son helped Giovanni Ribisi prepare for 'The Offer.'

Joe Colombo died of cardiac arrest in 1978, so Ribisi wasn't able to talk with him to arrange for The Offer. However, he discovered another great useful resource to help him avoid the mafia stereotype offered in TV and film — the standpoint and memories of Joe's son Anthony Colombo.

"I came across a book [Colombo: The Unsolved Murder] that was coauthored by Anthony Colombo and a guy named Don Capria," Ribisi said to Distractify. "It was fascinating because it was told from the viewpoint of his son, his life at home, and it really personified him from a different perspective. Didn't focus on the criminal or any of that, and that was extremely helpful for me."

That's a very powerful thing about Joe Colombo that The Offer communicates. While he was indeed a mafia boss and keen on criminal activity, he was not the stereotypical mobster. He was a public figure for the Italian American group. It was necessary to Ribisi to play the overall picture of Colombo and no longer simply the tough man who intimidated Al Ruddy.

"This guy had a sense of humor, and he had aspirations, and he had values," the actor explained. "He was adamantly against the drug culture that was emerging in the mid '60s, late '60s, early '70s. He was for the Italian American community, and I think that there was something that he saw that he had compassion for."

The Offer premieres on April 28, 2022, on Paramount Plus.

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