Andy Garcia once made an offer the Godfather: Part III costume designers couldn’t refuse. According to the legendary actor, he recommended that his co-star Bridget Fonda wear his coat when she was “nervous” to film a nude scene for the 1990 crime thriller.
While appearing on a recent episode of The Pete and Sebastian Show podcast, Garcia looked back on filming the scene in the Francis Ford Coppola-directed flick, in which he played Sonny Corleone’s (James Caan) illegitimate son. Meanwhile, Fonda, who has since retired from acting, portrayed his love interest Grace Hamilton in the movie.
“Bridget Fonda was extraordinary to work with, and that’s my coat she’s wearing. That’s my coat,” he said. “And initially, you know, they wanted her to be, you know, naked. And she was very nervous. And I said, ‘No, no. She’s not gonna be naked, no. Come on.’”
The star continued, “I said to [costume designer] Milena Canonero, I said, ‘Milena, why doesn’t she just wear my leather coat? It’s on the bed, it’s on the floor. Let her come out in my coat.’ And she went, ‘Oh, beautiful. Yeah, let’s do that.’ And you know, they taped it so it wouldn’t open up and stuff like that.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Garcia recalled the time he accidentally injured a stuntman during a fight scene when he went to grab him by the hair.
“I grab him and he says something and I kind of give him a whack, right? I got a little bit too close and I nipped the back of his head,” Garcia said. “So we did one take. Then after they said cut, I went, ‘Hey, man, you alright? I’m sorry.’ And he goes, ‘No, man, that was wild!’ He was totally into it.”
Garcia added, “But those kinds of things, you know, they happen sometimes, you know, even though no matter how careful you are, it was very well organized and protected. But what I did was clip him a little bit.”
The Godfather: Part III is currently streaming on Paramount+. Check out Garcia’s interview above.
