Short Takes : Hamilton Almost Lost ‘Part III’

NEW YORK — George Hamilton, who hasn’t had a role in a feature film since 1981, almost didn’t end up in “The Godfather, Part III.”

Hamilton, 51, plays a WASP lawyer who sets up a deal for the Corleone family with the Vatican Bank.

Hamilton said in the January issue of Vanity Fair that his agent at first turned down the role because he had been told it would be a cameo.

“You did what?” he recalled telling his agent. “We’re talking about ‘The Godfather’ here.”

Finally Hamilton called director Francis Ford Coppola in Italy, and Coppola assured him that he still wanted the actor.

“I said, ‘Francis, you’re telling me that you will work with me to make it good. That’s all I need.’ And I jumped on a plane and went to Rome,” Hamilton said.

It was his first role since “Zorro, the Gay Blade” in 1981. Hamilton’s other movie credits include “Love at First Bite” and “Where the Boys Are.”