Al Pacino (Alfredo James Pacino, born April 25, 1940) is an American actor of stage and screen, filmmaker, and screenwriter. Pacino was born in New York City (East Harlem), to Sicilian-American parents Salvatore Pacino and Rose, who divorced when he was two years old. His mother moved to The Bronx to live with her parents, Kate and James Gerardi, who, coincidentally, had come from a town in Sicily named Corleone. His father, who was from San Fratello in the Province of Messina, moved to Covina, California, and worked as an insurance salesman and restaurateur.
In his teen years “Sonny”, as he was known to his friends, aimed to become a baseball player, and was also nicknamed “The Actor”. Pacino went through Herman Ridder Junior High School, but in secondary school dropped out of many classes, though not English. He attended the High School of Performing Arts, but dropped out of school at age 17. His mother disagreed with his decision; they argued and he left home. He worked at low-paying jobs; messenger, busboy, janitor, and postal clerk, to finance his acting studies. He once worked in the mail room for Commentary magazine.
He acted in basement plays in New York’s theatrical underground but was rejected for the Actors Studio while a teenager. Pacino then joined the Herbert Berghof Studio (HB Studio), where he met acting teacher Charlie Laughton (not to be confused with the British actor Charles Laughton), who became his mentor and best friend. In this period, he was often unemployed and homeless, and sometimes slept on the street, in theaters, or at friends’ houses.
From the streets to the stars
Pacino made his feature film debut with a minor role in Me, Natalie (1969). He gained favorable notices for his lead role as a heroin addict in The Panic in Needle Park (1971). Al Pacino achieved international acclaim and recognition for his breakthrough role as Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972). He received his first Oscar nomination and would reprise the role in the equally successful sequels The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990). Pacino’s performance as Michael Corleone is now regarded as one of the greatest screen performances in film history.
Pacino has had a career spanning over five decades, during which time he has received numerous accolades and honors both competitive and honorary, among them an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awards, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute, the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the National Medal of Arts. He is also one of few performers to have won a competitive Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony Award for acting, dubbed the “Triple Crown of Acting“.
Al Pacino, theatre and TV…
In addition to his work in film, Pacino has had an extensive career on stage. He is a two-time Tony Award winner, in 1969 and 1977, for his performances in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel respectively.
A lifelong fan of Shakespeare, Pacino directed and starred in Looking for Richard (1996). It’s a documentary film about the play Richard III, a role which Pacino had earlier portrayed on-stage in 1977. He has also acted as Shylock in a 2004 feature film adaptation and a 2010 production of The Merchant of Venice. Having made his filmmaking debut with Looking for Richard, Pacino has also directed and starred in the independent film Chinese Coffee (2000) and the films Wilde Salomé (2011) and Salomé (2013), about the play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Since 1994, Pacino has been the joint president of the Actors Studio with Ellen Burstyn and Harvey Keitel.
Other actors on Al Pacino
Robin Williams (actor): “I worked with Al Pacino, whose character was crazy. Before every take, he would roar like a lion. It was great to work with (Pacino and Robert De Niro, with whom Williams made Awakenings—during filming, Williams accidentally broke De Niro’s nose)—it’s amazing to be around those guys. Working with those guys is a gift.”
Taylor Hackford (director): “I told them to forget the text, just feel the room, and I saw Pacino walk in and do the most incredible improv I’ve ever seen in my life. Out of the middle of nowhere he stars to sing, ‘I met her in Monterey, in old Mexico,’ and that’s from an old Frank Sinatra song I hadn’t heard in 30 years. I said, ‘Where the hell did that come from?’ and he said, ‘I don’t know, I just felt like singing it.”
Diane Keaton (actress): “I was mad for him. Charming, hilarious, a nonstop talker. There was an aspect of him that was like a lost orphan, like this kind of crazy idiot savant. And oh, gorgeous!”
Al Pacino unforgetable roles
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