Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino (born
April 25,
1940) is an
iconic Academy Award-winning
American stage and
film actor. He is considered one of the greatest actors of all film history, with a presence and critical performance on screen that can perhaps only be matched by the likes of
Marlon Brando and
Robert De Niro. His performances in such classics as
The Godfather and 'Scarface' have solidified his legendary status.
Regarded by many to be one of the seminal actors of his generation, Pacino was born in
The Bronx,
New York to
Italian American parents Salvatore Pacino (who was born in the
Sicilian town of
Corleone) and Rose Gerard (the daughter of an
Italian-born father and a
New York-born mother of
Italian descent). His parents divorced while Pacino was still a child. His grandparents originated from
Corleone,
Sicily. His father Salvatore moved to
Covina,
California; working as insurance salesman, as well his own restaurant called Pacino's Lounge. As of today, business was slow and closed down in the early 90's, it's now called Citrus Grill. His father passed away on
January 1,
2005 at the age of 82.
1970s
In 1966, Pacino studied under legendary acting coach
Lee Strasberg (alongside whom he would later feature in the 1974 film
The Godfather Part II), finding acting a therapeutic outlet in a youth which saw him depressed and so impoverished he could barely afford the bus fares required to get him to his next audition. Yet by the end of the decade, he had won an
Obie award for his stage work in
The Indian Wants the Bronx and a
Tony award for
Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie? His movie debut came in 1969's
Me, Natalie but it was the 1971 film
The Panic in Needle Park, in which he played a
heroin addict, that would showcase his talents and bring him to the attention of
director Francis Ford Coppola.
Pacino's rise to fame came after portraying
Michael Corleone in Coppola's blockbuster 1972
Mafia film
The Godfather and Frank
Serpico in the eponymous 1973 movie. Although numerous established actors, including
Robert Redford,
Warren Beatty, and a then unknown
Robert De Niro, were vying to portray Michael Corleone, Coppola selected the relatively unknown Pacino. His performance earned him an
Academy Award nomination for
Best Supporting Actor. In 1973 Pacino starred in the very successful
Serpico and the less popular
Scarecrow alongside
Gene Hackman. 1974 saw
The Godfather Part II. In 1975, Pacino reached the first height of his popularity when
Dog Day Afternoon was released. The film was based on the true story of bank robber
John Wojtowicz. Other minor works to close out the decade include
Bobby Deerfield and
...And Justice for All, which some perceive to be his most underrated performances.
By the end of the 1970s he would have three more nominations, all for
Best Actor.
1980s
|
"Say Hello To My Little Friend!", as Tony Montana in Scarface. |
Pacino's career took a downturn in the early 1980s and his appearances in the controversial
Cruising and the comedy-drama
Author! Author! saw him critically panned. 1983's
Scarface proved to be both a career highlight and a defining role, earning Pacino a
Golden Globe nomination for his performance as a
Cuban drug lord who cries out the now famous line, punctuated by a
grenade launcher blast,
"You wanna play rough? Okay! Say hello to my little friend!".
However, 1985's
Revolution was a commercial and a critical failure, and Pacino returned to stage work for four years. He mounted workshop productions of
Crystal Clear,
National Anthems and other plays; appeared in
Julius Caesar in 1988 for producer
Joseph Papp's
New York Shakespeare Festival; and worked on his most personal project,
The Local Stigmatic, a play he had starred in
Off Broadway in 1969 then re-mounted in 1985 with director David Wheeler and the Theater Company of Boston in order to film a 50-minute movie version unreleased as of 2005.
Pacino remarked on his film hiatus that, "I remember back when everything was happening, '74, '75, doing
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui on stage and reading that the reason I'd gone back to the stage was that my movie career was waning! That's been the kind of ethos, the way in which theater's perceived, unfortunately" [
1].
1990s
Pacino re-surfaced in film in 1989's
Sea of Love, which was to signal a return to form. The next year, in 1990, he received an
Oscar nomination as Big Boy Caprice in the box office hit
Dick Tracy. Despite this, it wasn't until 1993 that Pacino would win an Oscar, for Best Actor, for his portrayal of the depressed, irascible, retired and
blind Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in
Martin Brest's
Scent of a Woman. That year, he was also up for the supporting award for his role in
Glengarry Glen Ross, making Pacino the first male actor ever to receive two acting nominations for two different movies in the same year, and the first actor of either gender to achieve that feat and win for the lead acting nomination. (
Jamie Foxx did the same in 2005.) Pacino has since turned in acclaimed performances in such
crime thrillers as
Carlito's Way,
Heat, and
Insomnia, the crime
docudrama Donnie Brasco, the multi-Oscar nominated
The Insider, the
supernatural drama
The Devil's Advocate, and others.
In 1995 Pacino starred in
Michael Mann's
Heat, in which he and fellow film icon
Robert De Niro appeared on screen for the first time ever. The duo drew much attention from fans, as both actors have generally been compared throughout their careers. Though both Pacino and De Niro starred in
The Godfather Part II, they didn't share any screen time together. Both performances in Heat are considered highlights in their careers, especially in how the two interact through out the scenes they share.
|
Pacino as Vincent Hanna in Heat. |
Pacino has not received another nomination from the Academy since
Scent of a Woman, but has won two
Golden Globes since the turn of the century, the first being the
Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion picture, and the second for his role in the highly praised
HBO miniseries
Angels in America.
Pacino has turned down a number of key roles in his career, including that of
Han Solo in
Star Wars, Captain Willard in
Apocalypse Now, Richard Sherman in a remake of
The Seven Year Itch (which was never filmed) and Edward Lewis in
Pretty Woman. In 1996 Pacino was set to play General
Manuel Noriega in a major biographical motion picture when director
Oliver Stone pulled the plug on production to focus on the movie
Nixon. Additionally, Pacino had recently turned down the offer to reprise the role of
Michael Corleone in
The Godfather: The Game, due to the fact that his voice had changed dramatically since he played the young Michael. As a result,
Electronic Arts could not use Pacino's likeness or voice in the game (although Michael does appear in it). It is rumoured that this decision was made by Pacino due to a conflict with EA's rival game publisher,
Vivendi Universal, who are preparing to publish a competing movie-to-game adaptation of the
1983 remake of Scarface, titled
Scarface: The World is Yours.
The quality of Pacino's performances, as well as his larger-than-life onscreen presence, has established him as one of the world's major actors. Pacino still performs theater work and has also dabbled in direction. While
The Local Stigmatic remains unreleased, his theatrical feature
Looking for Richard and his
film festival-screened
Chinese Coffee earned good notices. Several characters essayed by Pacino are famous in popular culture. On the
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains, he is only the second actor to have three appearances on both lists: on the heroes as
Frank Serpico and on the villains list as
Tony Montana and
Michael Corleone.
*Pacino suffered from a
throat disorder in the mid-1980s which forced to him stop smoking cigarettes. Notice in
Sea of Love, he sounded noticibly different, featuring his now-famous dark, owly eyes and hoarse, deep voice.
*After stopping smoking cigarettes, he now smokes herbal cigarettes.
*Although he has never been married, Pacino has three children. The first, Julie Marie is his daughter with acting coach
Jan Tarrant. He also has twins, Anton and Olivia, with ex-girlfriend
Beverly D'Angelo.
*On the set of "
The Recruit", he met and befriended
Colin Farrell, who regards Pacino as an idol. Pacino later called Farrell the most talented actor of his generation.
* Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (16 October 1997)
* Ranked #4 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. (October 1997)
* Was arrested in January 1961, charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
* Son of Salvatore Pacino (insurance agent) and Rose Pacino (she died when Al was 22).
* He has a daughter, named Julie Marie, with acting teacher Jan Tarrant.
* Dropped out of school at the age of 17.
* Turned down the role of Ted Kramer in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979).
* Turned down Born on the Fourth of July (1989).
* Turned down Apocalypse Now (1979).
* Turned down the role of Han Solo in Star Wars (1977).
* Turned down Pretty Woman (1990).
* Turned down Crimson Tide (1995).
* Originally asked for $7 million for The Godfather: Part III (1990), a figure that so enraged director Francis Ford Coppola that he threatened to write a new script that opened with Michael Corleone's funeral. Pacino settled for $5 million.
* Father of twins Anton and Olivia (b. 25 January 2001), with Beverly D'Angelo.
* His grandparents originate from Corleone, Sicily.
* Was frequently referred to as "that midget Pacino" by producers of The Godfather (1972) who didn't want him for the part of Michael Corleone.
* Francis Ford Coppola asked Pacino to play Captain Willard in his film Apocalypse Now (1979). Pacino politely turned down the offer, saying he'd "do anything" for Francis but he "woudn't go to war with him!"
* Stopped a 2-pack-a-day smoking habit in 1994 to protect his voice. He now only occasionally smokes herbal cigarettes.
* Al was so much into character (playing a plain-clothes NYC cop) while filming Serpico (1973) he actually pulled over and threatened to arrest a truck driver for exhaust pollution.
* Is an avid fan of opera.
* Once worked as an usher at Carnegie Hall.
* Larry King considers Pacino's appearance on his show "Larry King Live" (1985) in November 1996 as one of his personal all-time favorite interviews.
* As of 2002, his salary was around $10 million a picture.
* One of the few Hollywood stars who has never married.
* Despite the fact that he starred in "The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui" for Off- Broadway scale pay (the minimum salary allowed by Actor's Equity), the production had the highest ticket price in Off-Broadway history at $100 per ticket.
* He is one of the elite ten thespians to have been nominated for both a Supporting and Lead Acting Academy Award in the same year. The other nine are Barry Fitzgerald Fay Bainter, Teresa Wright, Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, Emma Thompson, Holly Hunter, Julianne Moore and Jamie Foxx. Pacino was the second male actor, after Barry Fitzgerald, to have been nominated for both a Best Supporting Actor and a Best Actor Oscar in the same year, the third is actor Jamie Foxx, who was nominated for Best Actor and Best supporting Actor in 2005.
* Won two Tony Awards: in 1969 as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?" and in 1977 as Best. Actor (Play) for "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel."
* Won his first Oscar twenty-one years after his first nomination.
* He and Chris Sarandon improvised their scene on the phone in the film Dog Day Afternoon (1975).
* Studied acting under Charles Laughton.
* He is an avid Shakespeare fan.
* Was voted the Number 1 greatest movie star of all time in a Channel 4 (UK) poll.
* For a short while, he was the only actor to be in the #1 Best and Worst Movie on IMDb: The Godfather (1972) and Gigli (2003).
* In a "Playboy magazine interview, he claimed that he was fired from his job as a movie theater usher while walking down the staircase and admiring himself in the mirrored wall.
* He was voted the 41st Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
* Portrayed crime bosses in The Godfather Trilogy, Scarface (1983) and Dick Tracy (1990).
* In 2004 he became the eighteenth performer to win the Triple Crown of Acting. Oscar: Best Actor, Scent of a Woman (1992); Tonys: Best Supporting Actor-Play "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?: (1969) and Best Actor-Play "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" (1977); and Emmy: Best Actor-Miniseries/Movie, "Angels in America" (2003) (mini).
* Read for Chazz Palminteri's part in The Usual Suspects (1995). Source: Director Bryan Singer, "Pursuing The Usual Suspects" documentary from UK DVD.
* Pacino was rejected repeatedly by studio heads while auditioning for the role of Michael in The Godfather (1972) but Francis Ford Coppola fought for him. This film was shot briskly because both the director and the leading actor were in constant fear of being fired. Ironically, the film turned out to be a breakthrough for both.
* He is the stepson of actress and make-up artist Katherin Kovin-Pacino.
* He has four sisters: Josette, a teacher, twins Roberta and Paula, and a younger sister named Desiree, whom Pacino's father adopted whilst married to his fourth wife.
* Was a longtime member of David Wheeler's Theatre Company of Boston, for which he performed in "Richard III" in Boston from Dec 1972 to Jan 1973 and at the Cort Theater in New York City from June 10 to July 15, 1979. He also appeared in their productions of Bertolt Brecht's "Aurturo Ui" at the Charles Theater in Boston in 1975 and later in New York and London, and in David Rabe's "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" at the Longacre Theater in New York in 1977, for which Pacino won a Tony Award. Wheeler also directed Pacino in Heathcote Williams' "The Local Stigmatic" for Joseph Papp's Public Theater in New York City in 1976. Pacino appeared in a 1989 film of "Stigmatic" directed by Wheeler that was presented at the Cinémathèque in Los Angeles.
* Was the recipient of the 2001 Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field".
* Won the Best Actor Obie (awarded for the best Off-Broadway performances) for "The Indian Wants The Bronx" in 1968. Was also nominated for a Best Actor Obie for "Why Is A Crooked Letter" in 1966.
* His performance in the Broadway play "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?" won him a Tony Award for Best Dramatic Supporting Actor, and a Drama Desk Award and Theatre World Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1969.
* Turned down the lead role of Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
* While Paramount brass dithered over whether to cast him as Michael Corleone, the role that would make him a star, a frustrated Pacino signed up for the role of Mario Trantino in _The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971)_ . When Paramount finally decided to offer him the role in The Godfather (1972), they had to buy him out of his contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Ironically, the role went to Robert De Niro, whom The Godfather: Part II (1974) would make a star.
* His favorite actress is Julie Christie.
* He and Jamie Foxx are two out of the only three actors to be nominated for an Academy Award for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in the same year. (Barry Fitzgerald did it first in 1945) Pacino was nominated in 1993 for Scent of a Woman (1992) and Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) / Foxx in 2005 for Ray (2004/I) and Collateral (2004). Both men won the Best Actor award, and they both played blind men in their roles: Pacino as Frank Slade and Foxx as Ray Charles.
* Premiere Magazine ranked him as #37 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature (2005).
* Grew up in the South Bronx, New York City
* Attended The High School of the Performing Arts until he dropped out.
* Was John Schlesinger's original pick for Marathon Man (1976) but producer Robert Evans insisted that Schlesinger cast Dustin Hoffman instead.
* Has a production company called Chal Productions. The "Ch" is in tribute Charles Laughton while the "Al" is for himself.Worked in the mail room of Commentary magazine.
* Shares a birthday with Talia Shire, his co-star in The Godfather films.
* Speaks Fluent Italian and Spanish
* His favorite color is black.
* Briefly worked as a stand-up comic early in his career
* Early in his acting career, he considered changing his name to "Sonny Scott" to avoid being typecast by his Italian name. "Sonny" was his childhood nickname.
* Alec Baldwin, who co-starred with Pacino in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) and Looking for Richard (1996), wrote a 65 page final thesis on Al Pacino and method acting for his degree at NYU.
* Was friends with John Cazale since they were teenagers. They starred together in Dog Day Afternoon (1975), The Godfather: Part II (1974) and The Godfather (1972)
* He is only one of four actors to be nominated for an Oscar twice for playing the same role in two separate films. He was nominated as for The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974). The others are Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson in The Hustler (1961) and The Color of Money (1986), Bing Crosby as Father O'Malley in Going My Way (1944) and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), and Peter O'Toole as Henry II in Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968).
* During the making of The Recruit (2003), he met and became close friends with Colin Farrell. He went on to call Farrell the most talented actor of his generation.
* He and Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor Awards back-to-back. Both of them won for playing characters that had previously been played by other actors (Vittorio Gassman and Brian Cox, respectively). They also both played their roles opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman, who appears in both Scent of a Woman (1992) and Red Dragon (2002). He and Hopkins have also both appeared in remake of a Michael Mann film. Hopkins appeared in the Manhunter (1986) remake Red Dragon (2002), and Pacino appeared in the L.A. Takedown (1989) (TV) remake, Heat (1995).
* Oscar-winning director John Schlesinger envisioned a cast of Pacino, Julie Christie and Laurence Olivier for "Marathon Man" (1976). Pacino has said that the only actress he had ever wanted to work with was Christie, who he claimed was "the most poetic of actresses." Producer Robert Evans, who disparaged the vertically challenged Pacino as "The Midget" when Francis Ford Coppola wanted him for "The Godfather" (1972) and had thought of firing him during the early shooting of the now-classic film, vetoed Pacino for the lead. Instead, Evans insisted on the casting of the even-shorter Dustin Hoffman! On her part, Christie turned down the female lead, which was then taken by Marthe Keller (who, ironically, became Pacino's lover after co-starring with him in Bobby Deerfield (1977)). Of his dream cast, Schlesinger only got Olivier, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Pacino has yet to co-star with Christie.
* Turned down the role of Richard Sherman for a remake of The Seven Year Itch (1955) which was never filmed.
* Turned down role as Michael Corleone in the Godfather videogame.
* His performance as Sonny Wortzik in Dog Day Afternoon (1975) is ranked #4 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
* His performance as Michael Corleone in The Godfather: Part II (1974) is ranked #20 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
* His performance as Tony Montana in Scarface (1983) is ranked #74 on Priere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
* His performance as Michael Corleone in
The Godfather: Part II (1974) is ranked #11 on the American Film Institute's 100 Heroes & Villains.
* His performance as Frank Serpico in Serpico (1973) is ranked #40 on the American Film Institute's 100 Heroes & Villains.
* Was director Bryan Singer's first choice for the role of Dave Kujan in
The Usual Suspects (1995). Pacino passed on the role and has since stated that that is the role he regrets passing on the most.
| Date | Film | Role |
|---|
| July 13, 1969 | Me, Natalie | Tony |
| May 9, 1971 | The Panic in Needle Park | Bobby Lionelli |
| March 15, 1972 | The Godfather | Michael Corleone |
| August 31, 1973 | Scarecrow | Francis Lionel 'Lion' Delbuchi |
| December 5, 1973 | Serpico | Officer Frank Serpico |
| December 12, 1974 | The Godfather Part II | Michael Corleone |
| September 21, 1975 | Dog Day Afternoon | Sonny Wortzik |
| September 17, 1977 | Bobby Deerfield | Bobby Deerfield |
| June 29, 1979 | ...And Justice for All | Arthur Kirkland |
| February 8, 1980 | Cruising | Steve Burns |
| June 18, 1982 | Author! Author! | Ivan Travelian |
| December 9, 1983 | Scarface | Tony Montana |
| June 30, 1985 | Revolution | Tom Dobb |
| 1989 | The Local Stigmatic | Graham |
| September 15, 1989 | Sea of Love | Detective Frank Keller |
| June 15, 1990 | Dick Tracy | Big Boy Caprice |
| December 25, 1990 | The Godfather Part III | Michael Corleone |
| 1991 | Madonna: Truth or Dare |
| October 11, 1991 | Frankie and Johnny | Johnny |
| September 30, 1992 | Glengarry Glen Ross | Richard "Ricky" Roma |
| December 23, 1992 | Scent of a Woman | Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade |
| November 10, 1993 | Carlito's Way | Carlito "Charlie" Brigante |
| 1994 | Jonas in the Desert |
| November 22, 1995 | Two Bits | Gitano Sabatoni |
| December 15, 1995 | Heat | Lieutenant Vincent Hanna |
| February 16, 1996 | City Hall | Mayor John Pappas |
| July 5, 1996 | Looking for Richard |
| 1997 | Pitch |
| February 28, 1997 | Donnie Brasco | Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero |
| October 17, 1997 | Devil's Advocate | John Milton |
| November 5, 1999 | The Insider | Lowell Bergman |
| December 16, 1999 | Any Given Sunday | Tony D'Amato |
| 2000 | Chinese Coffee | Harry Levine |
| May 3, 2002 | Insomnia | Detective Will Dormer |
| August 23, 2002 | S1m0ne | Viktor Taransky |
| October 11, 2002 | People I Know | Eli Wurman |
| January 25, 2003 | The Recruit | Walter Burke |
| August 8, 2003 | Gigli | Starkman |
| December 7, 2003 | Angels in America | Roy Cohn |
| September 3, 2004 | The Merchant of Venice | Shylock |
| October 7, 2005 | Two for the Money | Walter Abrams |
| 2006 | 88 Minutes | Jack Gramm |
| 2006 | Torch |
| 2007 | Rififi |
| 2007 | Ocean's Thirteen | Willie Banks |
*
S1m0ne (2002) $11,000,000
*
The Godfather: Part III (1990) $5,000,000
*
And Justice for All (1979) $1,000,000
*
The Godfather: Part II (1974) $500,000 and 10% of the gross after break-even
*
The Godfather (1973) $35,000
*
Al Pacino Timeline
*
Los Angeles Times, Sunday, Sept. 17, 1989: "Pacino Re-Focuses on Film Career: After Five-Year Absence, Actor Returns to the Big Screen", by Frank Lovece*
Biography by Jonathan Dunder
