One of the greatest actors in all of film history, Al Pacino established himself during one of film's greatest decades, the 70s, and has become an enduring and iconic figure in the world of American movies. Born on April 25th, 1940 in the South Bronx, New York, Pacino's parents (Salvatore and Rose) divorced when he was young. His mother moved them into his grandparents' house. Pacino found himself often repeating the plots and voices of characters who he had seen in the movies, one of his favorite activities. Bored and unmotivated in school, the young Al Pacino found a haven in school plays, and his interest soon blossomed into a full-time career. Starting on the stage, Pacino went through a lengthy period of depression and poverty, sometimes having to borrow bus fare to make it to auditions. He made it into the prestigious Actors Studio in 1966, studying under the legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg, creator of the Method Approach that would become the trademark of many 70s era actors. Making appearances in various plays, Pacino finally hit it big with "The Indian Wants the Bronx", winning an Obie award for the 1966-67 season. Gaining notoriety on the theater scene, Pacino then won the Tony Award for "Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie?". His first feature films made little departure from the gritty realistic stage performances that earned him respect: he played a junkie in The Panic in Needle Park after his film debut in Me, Natalie. What came next would change his life forever. The part of Michael Corleone in The Godfather was one of the most sought- after roles in film history. Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, 'Ryan ONeal, Robert De Niro, and a host of others were bandied about for the role, but director Francis Ford Coppola had his heart set on the unknown Italian Pacino. From the studio, to the producers, to the cast on down, nobody else wanted Al Pacino. Though Coppola won out through slick persuasion, Pacino was in constant fear of being fired and replaced at any minute during the hellish shoot. But the role was a career- making hit, and earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Instead of taking on easier projects for money, Pacino threw his support behind tough important films, such as the true life crime drama Serpico and the tragic real life bank robbery film Dog Day Afternoon. Pacino opened eyes around the film world for his brave choice of roles; and he was nominated three consecutive years for the "Best Actor" Academy Award. He faltered slightly with Bobby Deerfield, but regained his stride with the law film _...And Justice for All (1979)_ , for which he received another Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. This would unfortunately signal one of the only bad points in his career, one that produced the flops Cruising and Author! Author!. He took on another vicious gangster role and cemented his legendary status in the ultra-violent Scarface, but a monumental mistake was about to follow. Revolution endured an endless and seemingly cursed shoot in which equipment was destroyed, weather was terrible, and Pacino became terribly ill with pneumonia. Constant changes in the script also further derailed an already terrible project. The Revolutionary War film is considered one of the worst films ever, gained Pacino his first truly awful reviews, and kept him out of movies for the next four years. Returning to the stage, Pacino has done much to give back and contribute to the theatre, which he considers his first love. He directed a film _Local Stigmatic, The (1989)_ but it remains unreleased to the public. His self-imposed exile lifted, he returned in striking form in Sea of Love as a hard-drinking cop. The film marks the second phase of Pacino's career, the first film to feature his now famous dark, owl eyes and hoarse, gravelly voice. Making a return to the Corleones, he made The Godfather: Part III, and earned raves for his first comedic role in the colorful Dick Tracy. This earned him another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and, two years later, he was nominated for Glengarry Glen Ross. He went into romantic mode for Frankie and Johnny. In 1992, he finally won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his amazing performance in Scent of a Woman. A mix of technical perfection (he plays a blind man) and charisma, the role was tailor-made for him, and remains a classic. The next few years would see Pacino becoming more comfortable with acting and movies as a business, turning out great roles in great films with more frequency and less of the demanding personal involvement of his wilder days. Carlito's Way proved another gangster classic, as did the epic crime drama Heat directed by Michael Mann. He returned to the director's chair for the highly acclaimed and quirky Shakespeare adaptation Looking for Richard. City Hall, Donnie Brasco, and The Devil's Advocate all came out in this period. Reteaming with Mann and then Oliver Stone, he gave two commanding performances in The Insider and Any Given Sunday. In his personal life, Pacino is one of Hollywood's most enduring and notorious bachelors, having never been married. He has a daughter, Julie Marie, with acting teacher Jan Tarrant, and a new set of twins with long-time girlfriend Beverly D'Angelo. His romantic history includes a long-time romance with Godfather co-star Diane Keaton. With his intense and gritty performances, Pacino was an original in the acting profession. His Method approach would become the process of many actors throughout time, and his unbeatable number of classic roles has already made him a legend among film buffs and all aspiring actors and directors. His commitment to acting as a profession and his constant screen dominance has established him as one of movies' legends.


S1m0ne (2002): $11,000,000
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992): $1,500,000
The Godfather: Part III (1990): $5,000,000
The Godfather: Part II (1974): $500,000 and 10% of the gross after break-even
The Godfather (1972): $35,000

October 1997: Ranked #4 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. Son of Sal Pacino (insurance agent) and Rose Pacino (she died when Al was 22). Dropped out of school at the age of 17. Turned down Born on the Fourth of July (1989). Turned down the role of Han Solo in Star Wars (1977). Turned down Crimson Tide (1995). Father of twins Anton and Olivia (b. 25 January 2001), with Beverly D'Angelo. Was frequently refered to as "that midget Pacino" by producers of The Godfather (1972) who didn't want him for the part of Michael Corleone. 1994: Stopped a two-pack-a-day smoking habit to protect his voice. In the mid-1980s he had been smoking four packs of cigarettes a day. He now only occasionally smokes herbal cigarettes. Is an avid fan of opera. 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. One of the few Hollywood stars who has never married. He is one of the eleven elite thespians to have been nominated for both a Supporting and Lead Acting Academy Award in the same year. The other ten are Barry Fitzgerald Fay Bainter, Teresa Wright, Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, Emma Thompson, Holly Hunter, Julianne Moore, Jamie Foxx and Cate Blanchett. Pacino was the second male actor, after Fitzgerald, to have been nominated for both a Best Supporting Actor and a Best Actor Oscar in the same year; the third is Foxx, who was nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in 2005. Won his first Oscar twenty-one years after his first nomination. Studied acting under his friend Charles Laughton. Was voted the Number 1 greatest movie star of all time in a Channel 4 (UK) poll. 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. Portrayed crime bosses in The Godfather Trilogy, Scarface (1983) and Dick Tracy (1990). Read for Chazz Palminteri's part in The Usual Suspects (1995). Source: Director Bryan Singer, "Pursuing The Usual Suspects" documentary from UK DVD. He is the stepson of actress and make-up artist Katherin Kovin-Pacino. 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" (The Local Stigmatic (1990)) directed by Wheeler that was presented at the Cinémathèque in Los Angeles. 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. Turned down the lead role of Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) His favorite actress is Julie Christie. 2005: Premiere Magazine ranked him as #37 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature. Attended The High School of the Performing Arts until he dropped out. Worked in the mail room of Commentary magazine. His favorite color is black 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. Had been 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). 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. Turned down role as Michael Corleone in the Godfather videogame. 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. His performance as "Michael Corleone" in The Godfather: Part II (1974) is ranked #11 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. Stated in an interview that the movie he most wanted to be in but couldn't get the role was Slap Shot (1977). Director George Roy Hill opted not to go with Pacino because he could not ice skate. 1970-75: Lived with Jill Clayburgh. 6/7/07: Honored with the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award. 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 -- who was notoriously finicky about accepting parts, even in prestigious, sure-fire material -- 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. His Oscar nomination for The Godfather (1972) marked his first of 4 consecutive nominations, a feat he shares with Jennifer Jones (1943-46), Thelma Ritter (1950-53), Marlon Brando (1951-54) and Elizabeth Taylor (1957-60). Resides in Beverly Hills, California. Starred on Broadway alongside Sheryl Lee in Oscar Wilde's "Salome", in the Circle in the Square Theatre, under the direction of Robert Allan Ackerman. The play costarred Suzanne Bertish, Arnold Vosloo and Esai Morales. [Summer 1992] Got Kevin Spacey his first major role in a film. Pacino saw Spacey performing on Broadway and suggested him to the director of Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) for the role of "John Williamson". Lifetime Member of the prestigious Actors Studio. He was accepted into the studio in 1966, studying under legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg. The voice of Moe the Bartender from The Simpsons was based on Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon (1975). He studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.