Al James Pacino (born April 25, 1940) is an Italian-American actor best known for films such as The Godfather (and the sequels The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III), Dog Day Afternoon, Scarface (1983), Scent of a Woman (1992) and Carlito's Way (1993).
Biography[]
Pacino was born in East Harlem, New York City to Italian American parents. His maternal grandparents originated from Corleone, Palermo, Sicily.[1]
Career[]
Pacino is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather Trilogy and Tony Montana in Scarface, though he has also appeared several times on the other side of the law — as a police officer, a detective and a lawyer. His role as Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman won him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1993 after receiving seven previous Oscar nominations, one of them being in the same year.
He made his feature film debut in the 1969 film Me, Natalie in a minor supporting role, before playing the leading role in the 1971 drama The Panic in Needle Park. Pacino made his major breakthrough when he was given the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather in 1972, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Other Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor were for Dick Tracy and Glengarry Glen Ross. Oscar nominations for Best Actor include The Godfather Part II, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, ....And Justice for All and Scent of a Woman.
In addition to a career in film, he has also enjoyed a successful career on stage, winning Tony Awards for Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel. A longtime fan of Shakespeare, he made his directorial debut with Looking for Richard, a quasi-documentary on the play Richard III. Pacino has received numerous lifetime achievement awards, including one from the American Film Institute. He is a method actor, taught mainly by Lee Strasberg and Charles Laughton at the Actors Studio in New York.
Although he has never married, Pacino has had several relationships with actresses and has three children.
Filmography[]
- The Godfather (1972) as Michael Corleone
- Serpico (1973) as Frank Serpico
- The Godfather Part II (1974) as Michael Corleone
- Dog Day Afternoon (1975) as Sonny Wortzik
- Bobby Deerfield (1977) as Bobby Deerfield
- ...And Justice for All (1979) as Arthur Kirkland
- Scarface (1983) as Tony Montana
- Sea of Love (1989) as Frank Keller
- The Godfather Part III (1990) as Michael Corleone
- Scent of a Woman (1992) as Frank Slade
- Carlito's Way (1993) as Carlito "Charlie" Brigante
- Heat (1995) as Lieutenant Vincent Hanna
- Donnie Brasco (1997) as Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero
- The Insider (1999) as Lowell Bergman
- Insomnia (2002) as Will Dormer
- 88 Minutes (2007) as Dr. Jack Gramm
- Righteous Kill (2008) as Detective David "Rooster" Fisk
- Stand Up Guys (2012) as Val
- Danny Collins (2015) as Danny Collins
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) as Marvin Schwarzs
- The Irishman (2019) as Jimmy Hoffa
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio, 2006
External links[]
- Al Pacino on Wikipedia
- Al Pacino on The Godfather Wiki
- Al Pacino at TriviaTribute.com