Al Pacino
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"I am more alive in the theater than anywhere else, but what I take into the theater I get from the streets."---Al Pacino in The Hollywood Reporter Star Profiles, 1984.
"We used to play on a stoop in front of the local drug store on 173rd Street and Bryant Avenue [in the Bronx]. So nothing much has changed. The thing that struck me when I saw 'Scent of a Woman' was that when [Pacino] was 11 or 12 years old, he would always pretend to be a blind man. He used to walk down 174th Street, pretend he was blind and ask people to help him across the street. So it wasn't a surprise for me to see him get an Academy Award for a role he's been playing all his life."---Kenneth Lipper, neighborhood friend who grew up to be NYC Deputy Mayor under Ed Koch (and also co-screenwriter of "City Hall") quoted in The New York Times, October 7, 1996.
Biography
Arguably the most accomplished actor of his generation, Al Pacino became a cultural icon thanks to revered performances in a wide range of classic films, including "The Godfather" (1972), "Scarface" (1983) and "Glengarry Glen Ross" (1992). Coming to prominence during the New Hollywood golden age of the early 1970s, he possessed none of the classic features of leading men from Tinseltown's previous heydays, but enthralled audiences with absorbing performances on screens both large and small. As a Method actor, Pacino revealed the dark complexities of characters like Frank Serpico, Sonny Wortzik and Colonel Frank Slade. But in life, the actor remained an elusive figure, preferring to avoid disclosing anything of a personal nature. Despite such reluctance to open up about his life, Pacino maintained a long, prominent career in which he accomplished acting's rarest of feats - winning Oscar, Emmy and Tony awards. Although critics of his later films sometimes complained that Pacino coasted on accumulated goodwill from his powerful early work, performances ranging from his Shylock in Michael Radford's "The Merchant of Venice" (2004) to controversial assisted-suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian in Barry Levinson's "You Don't Know Jack" (HBO 2010) and troubled record producer Phil Spector in David Mamet's "Phil Spector" (HBO 2013) revealed an actor able to slip in and out of wildly different characters.
Born on April 25, 1940 in South Bronx, NY, Al Pacino was raised by his mother, Rose, and maternal grandparents, after his father, Salvatore, an insurance salesman and restaurateur, abandoned the family when Pacino was two years old. Thanks to being exposed to theater and movies through his mother, he alleviated loneliness and shyness by acting out scenes from "The Lost Weekend" to whoever would pay attention. Pacino later attended The School of Performing Arts, but dropped out when he was 17; instead studying at HB Studio and apprenticing at such avant-garde off-off-Broadway venues as Elaine Stewart's Cafe LaMaMa and Julian Beck and Judith Malina's Living Theatre. In one of those life changing events that seemed innocuous at the time, Pacino was cast in August Strindberg's "Creditors," directed by Charlie Laughton - the two went on to be lifelong friends - an experience that convinced him that he could be an actor. Pacino moved on to train at the fabled Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg, acquiring the Method acting intensity that propelled him to stardom.
Pacino first made his mark with an OBIE-winning performance as Murph, one of two men terrorizing an Indian (John Cazale) in Israel Horovitz's "The Indian Wants the Bronx" (1968). The following year, he won his first Tony Award playing Bickham, a drug-addled psychotic in Don Petersen's "Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie?" After making his feature debut in "Me, Natalie" (1969), Pacino landed his first leading role - as another drug addict - in "Panic in Needle Park" (1971). His bravura performance in that quirky film grabbed the attention of director Francis Ford Coppola, who persuaded a skeptical Paramount Studios to accept the actor as the dark and brooding mob boss Michael Corleone in "The Godfather." Though Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro won Oscars for portraying Vito Corleone in the compelling original and even better sequel, "The Godfather, Part II" (1974), it was Pacino's Michael that dominated both films, maturing from a cherubic war hero to cold-blooded mobster who coolly orders executions, including one on his own brother (Cazale). Pacino was the right actor at the right time to play the lonely tyrant - his finely calibrated, dark volatility perfectly embodying the alienation and moral tumult of the decade.
Trading on the moody romanticism of his sad, sunken eyes, Pacino become a major star of the '70s, enjoying a four-year career roll practically unmatched in film history. In one searing performance after another, his brooding, anti-authoritarian, streetwise figures reflected the cynical mood of the times. After crossing to the other side of the law to portray the tightly-wound hippie cop of Sidney Lumet's "Serpico" (1973), he continued to establish his tragic, hair-trigger persona as Sonny, the bungling bisexual bank robber exposed to the glare of the media as he holds hostages in Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975). Tucked amidst these career-making turns was "Scarecrow" (1973), a road movie co-starring Gene Hackman, which removed the actor from his typical inner city environs.
Pacino went on to make a series of career missteps, starting with "Bobby Deerfield" (1977), which cast him as a sports car racer involved in a romance with Marthe Keller. In legal drama "...And Justice for All" (1979), Pacino displayed lots of angry flash. His next film "Cruising" (1980), elicited either scorn or outrage from audiences and critics for its homophobic story of an undercover cop who infiltrates New York's gay scene to find a killer. "Author! Author!" (1982), Pacino's first outright comedy, channeled his intensity and energy in a new direction. But he returned to form - however outrageously - with his performance in Brian DePalma's remake of "Scarface" (1983). Like the film itself, Pacino was deliciously over-the-top, but undeniably potent. Regardless of the negative criticism the film received, "Scarface" marked another seminal moment in the actor's long career. Unfortunately, he followed up with a historical saga set in 1776, "Revolution" (1985), that was a critical and commercial flop.
Unlike many stage-trained actors who abandoned the theater when their movie stardom went into ascent, Pacino was never far from the footlights, often citing the thrill of working on stage. He won his second Tony Award for "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" (1977), reprising the starring role he had played in a Boston production earlier in the decade. Several times Pacino had essayed numerous Shakespearean roles, including the villainous Richard III and vengeance-minded soldier Marc Antony in a 1988 production of "Julius Caesar." He also enjoyed a long association with David Mamet's "American Buffalo," playing Walter 'Teach' Cole from 1980-83 in a variety of venues, both off- and on Broadway. Though asked to revive the role in the 1996 film version, his loyalty to others previously connected to the project resulted in Dustin Hoffman assuming his signature role instead.
Pacino rediscovered his zest for film by co-directing and producing "The Local Stigmatic," a pet project - adapted from a play he had once acted in - which he occasionally showed privately and continued to tinker with over the years. Harold Becker's urban thriller "Sea of Love" (1989) provided the perfect comeback role of a streetwise cop-on-the-edge who falls for a murder suspect (Ellen Barkin). Aided by a witty script by Richard Price, Pacino brought great depth to his loner, clutching at a second chance with the femme fatale, ranked high amongst his best work on screen. After an amusing parody of his previous gangster roles with an outlandish turn as Big Boy Caprice in "Dick Tracy," he dusted off Michael Corleone one more time for the divisive "The Godfather, Part III" (both 1990). He then played a short order cook recently released from prison opposite Michelle Pfeiffer in Garry Marshall's "Frankie and Johnny" (1991).
Pacino was in top form in the 1992 adaptation of Mamet's blistering "Glengarry Glen Ross," picking up an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Ricky Roma, a hotshot real estate salesman competing with an office occupied by a bunch of down-and-out losers. That same year, he finally copped the elusive Oscar after eight nominations for his bravura star turn as the unabashed blind veteran cutting loose on the town in "Scent of a Woman." Similarly, his prison-sprung drug lord in "Carlito's Way" (1993) showed his way with gutter-tough poetry, while his talent for various ethnic characterizations could be as riveting as ever. In Michael Mann's "Heat" (1995), Pacino was finally paired opposite Robert De Niro, marking their first and long-anticipated appearance on screen together. Though both received high marks from reviewers, the lion's share of the praise went to writer-director Mann for directing a tense, but rich crime thriller. That year also saw him age himself to beautifully render the grandfather in "Two Bits," a Depression-era family drama.
Former NYC deputy mayor Ken Lipper scripted "City Hall" (1996), which cast childhood friend Pacino as a compassionate mayor embroiled in a corruption scandal, teaming him for the first time with another Bronx native, Danny Aiello. Meanwhile, Pacino finished work after four years on "Looking for Richard" (1996), which he finally unveiled to great acclaim. Whittled down to two hours from more than 80 of raw footage, this documentary followed the actor-director in an exploration of Shakespeare's first great tragedy, Richard III, while examining the relevance of The Bard to people in every walk of life. Pacino was back on Broadway as director and star of Eugene O'Neill's "Hughie" in 1996 - his first visit to the NYC boards since his 1992 performances in "Salome" and "Chinese Coffee" - the latter of which became his next pet project as filmmaker. He finished shooting in 1997, but waited until 2000 to show "Chinese Coffee" at festivals.
If the 1980s had been inimical to Pacino's talents, the 1990s turned out to be his most prolific. He delivered an atypical, introspective turn as a low-level gangster in Mike Newell's "Donnie Brasco " (1997), a story of two men who grow to admire one another. Johnny Depp, in the title role, raised his acting level a notch in keeping with the high standards set by his co-star. Pacino returned to his old scenery-chewing tricks as a lawyer who happens to be Satan in "The Devil's Advocate" (also 1997), proving yet again that it can be great fun watching a master pulling out the stops. Pacino toned it down for his next performance playing rabble-rousing "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman in Michael Mann's "The Insider" (1999), an ambitious and intriguing drama that examined the state of journalism in the age of corporate malfeasance. Pacino closed out the decade in Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday" (1999), playing a world-weary professional football coach battling younger players more enamored by money and fame than in playing the game.
Pacino's next major role was as the sleep-deprived Detective Will Dormer in the crime thriller feature "Insomnia" (2002), writer-director Christopher Nolan's English-language remake of Erik Skojdbjaerg's 1997 Norwegian film, costarring Robin Williams and Hilary Swank. Less appreciated was the Hollywood send-up "Simone" (2002), with Pacino playing a washed-up director who revitalizes his career by secretly creating a digital actress that perfectly executes his every command and becomes a major star. Next up was "The Recruit" (2003) which saw him play a manipulative CIA instructor who recruits a young agent (Colin Farrell) to root out a mole inside The Company. Pacino followed with a supporting role in the notorious Ben Affleck-Jennifer Lopez comedy dud, "Gigli" (2003), reuniting with "Scent of a Woman" director Brest to play a federal prosecutor whose mentally disabled younger brother gets kidnapped.
Pacino rebounded with a stellar turn as Roy Cohn in HBO's acclaimed adaptation of "Angels In America" (2003), a performance that earned him a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made-for-Television and an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. In 2004, Pacino was able to bring one of his favorite Shakespeare plays to the big screen with director Michael Radford, playing the comically bitter Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice." Although the anti-Semitic overtones of the play have made it difficult to perform in modern times, Pacino effectively portrayed the moneylender's claim for his pound of flesh, as driven by a realistic anger over the loss of his daughter to a Christian man. Pacino returned to his scenery-chewing ways in "Two For the Money" (2005), playing Walter Abraham, a sports wagering consultant who takes a former college basketball star (Matthew McConaughey) under his wing after learning that he has a knack for predicting games. After sitting out for much of 2006, sans a rare extensive interview on the long-running series "Inside the Actors Studio" (Bravo, 1995- ), Pacino joined the ensemble cast for "Ocean's 13" (2007), playing a ruthless Las Vegas casino owner whose double-crossing of Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and company leads to his downfall.
Pacino kept a relatively low profile over the next couple of years, choosing to star in lower-budget movies that offered the actor more interesting opportunities. He first starred in "88 Minutes" (2008), a much-maligned thriller in which he played Dr. Jack Gramm, a forensic psychiatrist whose testimony against a convicted serial killer comes under question when new victims pop up on the eve of the convict's execution. He next reteamed with Robert De Niro in "Righteous Kill" (2008), with both playing aging cops trying to hunt down a vigilante serial killer. Once again, Pacino suffered another critical and box office bomb. But the actor recovered nicely from the two debacles with "You Don't Know Jack" (HBO, 2010), a well-received biopic in which he played the notorious Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a pathologist and right-to-die activist who was imprisoned for assisting upwards of 130 terminal patients to die with dignity. For his efforts, Pacino swept the Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards, winning all three trophies for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.
Pacino next appeared on the big screen opposite Channing Tatum in the crime drama "The Son of No One" (2011), and in a self-parodying cameo in the Adam Sandler bomb "Jack and Jill" (2011). The aging-mobster drama "Stand-Up Guys" (2012) paired Pacino with Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin in a master class of tough-guy acting. This was followed by another oddball cable biopic, "Phil Spector" (HBO 2013), a recounting of the former superstar record producer's trial for murder, written and directed by David Mamet. Pacino next stepped behind the camera again for an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "Salomé" (2013) starring Jessica Chastain, in which he also appeared as King Herod. The following year, Pacino starred in "The Humbling" (2014), an adaptation of the Philip Roth novel by screenwriter Buck Henry and director Barry Levinson. An atypical role as an aging rock star in Dan Fogleman's seriocomic "Danny Collins" (2015), Pacino took on supporting roles in action thriller "Misconduct" (2016) and indie drama "Dabka" (2017) before returning to star billing in crime drama "Hangman" (2017). The following year, he reteamed with Barry Levinson for another HBO biopic, this time starring as disgraced Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Cast (Short)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1966
Appeared in New Theatre Workshop presentation of "The Peace Creeps"
1967
Acted in "America Hurrah" and "Awake and Sing" at Charles Playhouse in Boston, MA
1968
Made off-Broadway debut in one-act play "The Indian Wants the Bronx," written by Israel Horovitz and co-starring John Cazale
1969
Made Broadway debut, in "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?"; received his first Tony Award
1969
Made feature acting debut in "Me, Natalie"
1970
Directed first stage production (also acted), "Rats" at Charles Playhouse in Boston; written by Horovitz
1971
Had first leading role in a feature film in Jerry Schatzberg's "Panic in Needle Park"
1972
Joined David Wheeler's Experimental Theatre Company for production of "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel"
1972
Earned first Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for role as Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather"; Cazale played older brother Fredo
1973
Reteamed with Schatzberg for "Scarecrow" opposite Gene Hackman
1973
Earned First Best Actor Oscar nomination for role in Sidney Lumet's "Serpico"
1974
Reprised role of Michael Corleone for Coppola's successful sequel "The Godfather, Part II"; earned second Academy Award nomination as Best Actor
1975
Earned third Best Actor Oscar nomination for Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon"; film re-teamed him with Cazale
1977
Reprised role in "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" for Broadway production; won second Tony Award
1979
Performed title role in "Richard III" for a record run on Broadway
1979
Received fourth Best Actor Oscar nomination, playing a crusading lawyer in " And Justice for All"
1980
Portrayed Walter Cole in David Mamet's "American Buffalo" in off-Broadway and Broadway productions; also toured U.S. and England
1982
Starred as a playwright in romantic comedy "Author! Author!" written by Israel Horovitz
1983
Portrayed Cuban drug kingpin Tony Montana in Brian De Palma's remake of "Scarface"; film scripted by Oliver Stone
1985
Miscast in Hugh Hudson's Colonial drama "Revolution"
1988
Starred in "Julius Caesar" in a limited engagement at New York's Public Theater
1989
Returned to films after a four-year absence in Harold Becker's "Sea of Love," playing a dectective investigating a murder
1990
Once again played Michael Corleone in Coppola's "The Godfather, Part III"
1990
Feature co-directing (with David Wheeler) and producing debut, "The Local Stigmatic," a 52-minute film shot in 16mm; screened at Museum of Modern Art in NYC
1990
Earned Best Supporting Actor nomination for role as Big Boy Caprice in Warren Beatty's "Dick Tracy"
1992
Earned Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for "Glengarry Glen Ross"; adapted from Mamet play and directed by James Foley
1992
Won first Best Actor Academy Award for role as a blind veteran in Martin Brest's "Scent of a Woman"
1993
Reteamed with De Palma for "Carlito's Way"
1995
Played a grandfather in Depression-era "Two Bits"; role was Pacino's tribute to his beloved grandfather who raised him
1995
Portrayed a cop tracking criminal Robert De Niro in Michael Mann's "Heat"
1996
Made feature directorial debut with quasi-documentary "Looking for Richard"; also co-wrote narration
1996
Directed and starred in Broadway production of Eugene O'Neill's "Hughie"
1997
Received star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
1997
Delivered a delicious, pull-out-the-stops portrayal of a 1990s Satan in "The Devil's Advocate"
1997
Played a small-time mobster in Mike Newell's "Donnie Brasco"
1999
Played an aging football coach in Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday"
1999
Starred as "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman in Mann's "The Insider"
2002
Portrayed a sleep-deprived detective in "Insomnia"
2003
Appeared as a manipulative CIA trainer in "The Recruit" opposite Colin Farrell
2003
Played a press agent reportedly modeled after real-life flak Bobby Zarem in "People I Know"
2003
Cast as Roy Cohn in HBO adaptation of "Angels in America," directed by Mike Nichols
2004
Starred in "The Merchant of Venice," a Shakespearean adaptation set in 16th century Venice
2005
Cast as a sports bookie opposite Matthew McConaughey in "Two for the Money"
2006
Portrayed King Herod Antipas in Oscar Wilde's "Salome" at Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles, CA
2007
Joined cast of Soderbergh's "Ocean's Thirteen" as a sleazy hotel and casino operator
2008
Again teamed with Robert De Niro as cops hunting down a serial killer in "Righteous Kill"
2008
Played a college professor and forensics expert hunted by a serial killer in "88 Minutes"
2010
Nominated for the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie ("You Don't Know Jack")
2010
Portrayed Dr. Jack Kevorkian in Barry Levinson directed HBO film "You Don't Know Jack"; earned Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
2010
Returned to stage as Shylock in Shakespeare in the Park production of "The Merchant of Venice"; earned Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
2011
Nominated for the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television ("You Don't Know Jack")
2011
Nominated for the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries ("You Don't Know Jack")
2011
Returned to features with "The Son of No One," co-starring Channing Tatum and Juliette Binoche
2011
Played himself opposite Adam Sandler in critically panned "Jack and Jill"
2011
Wrote, directed, and co-starred with Jessica Chastain in "Wilde Salome"
2012
Co-starred with Alan Arkin and Christopher Walken as aging con men in crime comedy "Stand Up Guys"
2013
Portrayed the legendary 1960s music producer in HBO movie "Phil Spector," directed by David Mamet
2014
Played an actor whose mind is unraveling in Humbling
2015
Played the title character in Dan Fogelman's "Danny Collins"
2016
Appeared in "Misconduct"
2017
Played Seymour Tolbin in Bryan Buckley's Somali pirate drama, "Dabka"
2017
Starred as a homicide detective in Johnny Martin's crime thriller "Hangman"
2017
Co-starred in "The Pirates of Somalia"
Photo Collections
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Promo
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"I am more alive in the theater than anywhere else, but what I take into the theater I get from the streets."---Al Pacino in The Hollywood Reporter Star Profiles, 1984.
"We used to play on a stoop in front of the local drug store on 173rd Street and Bryant Avenue [in the Bronx]. So nothing much has changed. The thing that struck me when I saw 'Scent of a Woman' was that when [Pacino] was 11 or 12 years old, he would always pretend to be a blind man. He used to walk down 174th Street, pretend he was blind and ask people to help him across the street. So it wasn't a surprise for me to see him get an Academy Award for a role he's been playing all his life."---Kenneth Lipper, neighborhood friend who grew up to be NYC Deputy Mayor under Ed Koch (and also co-screenwriter of "City Hall") quoted in The New York Times, October 7, 1996.
"Movies are wonderful. I love seeing them. But they're not as much fun to do for me. It's a very fragmented existence. You may only shoot a minute a day. There's a lot of waiting. But when you work on the stage, something can happen in your imagination that can affect the way you perform for the rest of your life. If you have a steady diet of that, you miss it.About returning to film acting in 1989's "Sea of Love" after a four year absence: "There was a division in my life, especially when I was younger, that films were there [he points left] and I was there [he points right]. I needed to understand and appreciate film as a form, not just something that I was in. I had to get more intimate with it, get my hands on it. Making my own picture ("The Local Stigmatic") gave me that tactile sense. And I think that helped me go on"---Pacino quoted in Los Angeles Times, June 29, 1999.
"I knew I would [be an actor] for the rest of my life at age 22, when I was in a Strindberg play called 'The Creditors". It was at the Actor's Gallery in SoHo on West Broadway, and I had found that through this play I was able to express [myself], and it wasn't just performing for me anymore; it became a way of speaking, talking about things. And I thought this will always be a way to express [myself]."---Pacino toDaily News, October 24, 1999.
"... I'd like to be remembered as the only man who lived to be 250 years old! [Laughs.] And as someone who had a chance to do what he always wanted to do. I like to think I'm a guy who wasn't going to make it, and I did. So it's good to buck the odds. If that means anything to anyone, I will be grateful from the beyond."---Pacino on how he wants to be remembered to USA Weekend, January 26, 2003.
"I wasn't going through a particularly good time [during The Godfather]. I was very unhappy. For the first few weeks, they were thinking of firing me. And I couldn't understand why they didn't."---Al Pacino quoted to Premiere, December 2004/January 2005.
"One of the great things about acting is to suddenly be able to tell someone who has a chain saw at your face to shove it up his ass."---Al Pacino quoted to Premiere, December 2004/January 2005.
