Al Pacino
Alfredo James Pacino was born on the 25th of April, 1940, in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. His parents divorced when he was two years old. His mother took him to the South Bronx and they lived with her parents, Kate and James Gerardi. They had emigrated from Corleone when young. Pacino's father moved to California to work as an insurance salesman and restaurateur in Covina, California.
In his teenage years, Pacino was known as "Sonny" to his friends. He attended Herman Ridder Junior High School but soon dropped out of most classes except for English. He subsequently attended the High School of Performing Arts after gaining admission by audition. His mother disagreed with his decision and left home after an argument. To finance his acting studies, Pacino took low-paying jobs as a messenger, busboy, janitor, and postal clerk. Sometimes he slept on the street, in theaters, or at a friend's home.
Pacino began smoking and drinking at age nine. He used marijuana casually at age 13 but abstained from hard drugs. His two closest friends died from drug abuse at the ages of 19 and 30. Growing up in the South Bronx, Pacino got into occasional fights and was considered something of a troublemaker at school. In 1962, Pacino's mother died at the age of 43. The following year, his maternal grandfather also died. Pacino recalled it as the lowest point of his life.
After four years at HB Studio, Pacino successfully auditioned for the Actors Studio. Pacino studied method acting under acting coach Lee Strasberg. Lee Strasberg appeared with Pacino in the films The Godfather Part II and in ...And Justice for All. During later interviews, he spoke about Strasberg and the Studio's effect on his career.
The Actors Studio meant so much to him in his life. Lee Strasberg hasn't been given the credit he deserves. Next to Charlie Laughton, it sort of launched him. It really did. That was a remarkable turning point in his life. It was directly responsible for getting him to quit all those jobs and just stay acting. He found it exciting to work for Strasberg because he was so interesting when he talked about a scene or talked about people.
One would just want to hear him talk because things he would say were never heard before. He had such a great understanding and loved actors so much. In 2000, Pacino was selected as co-president of the Actors Studio along with Ellen Burstyn and Harvey Keitel. This partnership defined his intense performance style that would become his trademark across five decades.
Francis Ford Coppola cast him as Michael Corleone in what became a blockbuster Mafia film, The Godfather, released in 1972. Although Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, and the little-known Robert De Niro tried out for the part, Coppola selected Pacino. Studio executives wanted someone better known but were dismayed by this choice.
Pacino's performance earned him an Academy Award nomination. Halliwell's Film Guide described his early acting style as "intense" and "tightly clenched." Pacino boycotted the Academy Award ceremony, insulted at being nominated for the Supporting Acting award. He noted that he had more screen time than co-star and Best Actor winner Marlon Brando who also boycotted the awards.
In 1973, Pacino was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor after starring in Serpico. That same year, he co-starred in Scarecrow with Gene Hackman which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1974, Pacino reprised his role as Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II. Newsweek has described his performance in The Godfather Part II as arguably cinema's greatest portrayal of the hardening of a heart.
Pacino's career slumped in the early 1980s. His appearances in the controversial Cruising and the comedy-drama Author! Author! were critically panned. His 1985 film Revolution about a fur trapper during the American Revolutionary War was a commercial and critical failure. This resulted in a four-year hiatus from films.
At this time Pacino returned to the stage. He mounted workshop productions of Crystal Clear, National Anthems and other plays. He appeared in Julius Caesar in 1988 in producer Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. Pacino remarked on his hiatus from film that theater's perceived ethos had driven him back to the stage when his movie career waned.
Pacino returned to film in 1989's Sea of Love when he portrayed a detective hunting a serial killer who finds victims through the singles column in a newspaper. The film earned solid reviews. In 1992, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor playing Big Boy Caprice in Dick Tracy and later Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman. He became the first male actor ever to receive two acting nominations for two movies in the same year.
On the 25th of February 1969, Pacino made his Broadway debut in Don Petersen's Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? at the Belasco Theater. It closed after 39 performances on the 29th of March 1969 but Pacino received rave reviews and won the Tony Award on the 20th of April 1969. He continued performing onstage in the 1970s winning a second Tony Award for The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel.
In 2003, Pacino starred as lawyer Roy Cohn in the HBO miniseries Angels in America an adaptation of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize winning play. For this performance, Pacino won his third Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in 2004. He also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for each appearance.
Later in 1975, he enjoyed further success with the release of Dog Day Afternoon based on the true story of bank robber John Wojtowicz. It was directed by Sidney Lumet who had directed him in Serpico a few years earlier. In 1995, Pacino starred in Michael Mann's Heat where he and Robert De Niro appeared on-screen together for the first time though both
had starred in The Godfather Part II without sharing scenes.
In 2019, Pacino played Teamsters chief Jimmy Hoffa alongside Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in Martin Scorsese's Netflix film The Irishman. This was the first time Pacino was directed by Scorsese. He received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 92nd Academy Awards which was his ninth to date. Peter Bradshaw described it as glorious in The Guardian.
Pacino starred alongside Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino's comedy-drama Once Upon a Time in Hollywood released on the 26th of July 2019. Justin Chang wrote that De Niro, Pesci and Pacino are at the top of their game because they aren't simply rehashing the iconic gangster types they've played before.
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Common questions
When and where was Al Pacino born?
Alfredo James Pacino was born on the 25th of April, 1940, in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. His parents divorced when he was two years old.
Who taught Al Pacino method acting at the Actors Studio?
Lee Strasberg taught Al Pacino method acting at the Actors Studio after four years at HB Studio. Lee Strasberg appeared with Pacino in The Godfather Part II and ...And Justice for All.
What year did Al Pacino win his first Tony Award?
Al Pacino won his first Tony Award on the 20th of April 1969 for his role in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? He made his Broadway debut on the 25th of February 1969.
Which film earned Al Pacino an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 1973?
Serpico earned Al Pacino an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 1973. That same year he co-starred in Scarecrow which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
When did Al Pacino return to films after a four-year hiatus?
Al Pacino returned to films in 1989 with Sea of Love when he portrayed a detective hunting a serial killer. His career had slumped in the early 1980s due to critical failures like Revolution.