AL PACINO

'Alfredo James Pacino' (born April 25, 1940) is a renowned and influential Academy Award, four time Golden Globe, AFI, two time BAFTA, Emmy Award, and two time Tony Award-winning American method actor who played such iconic roles as Michael Corleone in ''The Godfather Trilogy'' and Tony Montana in the 1983 film ''Scarface''.

Contents

Early life

Career

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Personal life

Awards

Academy Award

BAFTA Award

Emmy Award

Golden Globe Award

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

Early life

Pacino was born in East Harlem, New York City, New York to Italian-American parents Salvatore Pacino and Rose Gerardi, who divorced when Pacino was two years old. His mother subsequently moved to the South Bronx, to live with his grandparents, ^[1] Kate and James Gerardi,^[2] who originated from Corleone, Sicily. His father moved to Covina, California, working as an insurance salesman and owner of his own restaurant called ''Pacino's Lounge''. Pacino attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.
Tough times forced the closure of ''Pacino's Lounge'' in the early 1990s, now called ''Citrus Grill''. Salvatore Pacino died on January 1, 2005 at the age of 82.

Career

1960s

In 1966, Pacino studied under legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg (alongside whom he would later feature in the 1974 film ''The Godfather Part II''). He found acting to be enjoyable and realized he had a gift for it. However, it did put him in financial straits until the end of the decade when he had won an Obie Award for his work in ''The Indian Wants the Bronx'' and the Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Play for ''Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie?''. He made his first screen appearance in an episode of the television series ''N.Y.P.D.'' in 1968, and his largely unnoticed movie debut in ''Me, Natalie'' came the following year.

1970s

It was the 1971 film ''The Panic in Needle Park'', in which he played a heroin addict, that would bring him to the attention of director Francis Ford Coppola.
Pacino's rise to fame came after portraying Michael Corleone in Coppola's blockbuster 1972 Mafia film ''The Godfather'' and Frank Serpico in the eponymous 1973 movie.
Although several established actors, including Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, and a little-known Robert De Niro were vying to portray Michael Corleone, director Coppola selected the relatively unknown Pacino, much to the dismay of studio executives. His performance earned him an Academy Award nomination. Pacino's performance as Michael Corleone offers one of the finest examples of his early acting style, described by Halliwell's Film Guide as "intense" and "tightly clenched".
In 1973 Pacino starred in the very successful ''Serpico'' and the less popular ''Scarecrow'' alongside Gene Hackman. In 1974, Pacino reprised his role as Michael Corleone in the very successful sequel ''The Godfather Part II,'' acclaimed as being comparable to the original. In 1975, he enjoyed further success with the release of ''Dog Day Afternoon'', based on the true story of a bank robber John Wojtowicz. In 1977, Pacino starred as a race-car driver in Bobby Deerfield.
During the 1970s, Pacino had four Oscar nominations for Best Actor for his performances in ''Serpico'', ''The Godfather Part II'', ''Dog Day Afternoon'', and ''...And Justice for All''.

Pacino continued his dedication to the stage, winning a second Tony Award for ''The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel'' and performing the title role in ''Richard III'' for a record run on Broadway despite poor notices from critics.

1980s

Pacino's career slumped in the early 1980s, and his appearances in the controversial ''Cruising'' and the comedy-drama ''Author! Author!'' were critically panned. 1983's ''Scarface'', directed by Brian DePalma, proved to be a career highlight and a defining role. Upon its initial release, the film was critically panned but did well at the box office, grossing over $45 million domestically.^[3] Pacino earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in ''Scarface ''as a Cuban drug gangster.
Years later, he would reveal to interviewer Barbara Walters that Tony Montana represented the best work of his career.

1985's ''Revolution'' was a commercial and critical failure, resulting in a four year hiatus from films during which 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. He then worked on his most personal project, ''The Local Stigmatic'', a 1969 Off Broadway play in which he starred, which he remounted with director David Wheeler and the Theater Company of Boston in a 1985 50-minute film version unreleased as of 2006. Pacino remarked on his hiatus from film: "I remember back when everything was happening, '74, '75, doing ''The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui'' on stage and reading that the reason I'd gone back to the stage was that my movie career was waning! That's been the kind of ethos, the way in which theater's perceived, unfortunately."^[4] Pacino returned to films in 1989's ''Sea of Love''.
His greatest stage success of the decade was David Mamet's ''American Buffalo,'' for which Pacino was nominated for a Drama Desk Award.

1990s

Pacino received an Oscar nomination as Big Boy Caprice in the box office hit ''Dick Tracy'' (1990) followed by a return to arguably his most famous character, Michael Corleone, in ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990). He would finally win an Oscar for Best Actor, for his portrayal of the depressed, irascible, and retired blind Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in Martin Brest's ''Scent of a Woman'' (1992). That very year, he was also nominated for the supporting actor award for ''Glengarry Glen Ross'', making Pacino the first male actor ever to receive two acting nominations for two different movies in the same year, and to win for the lead role (as did Jamie Foxx in 2005). During that same year, Pacino was offered to voice Batman villain Two-Face in the hugely successful Batman The Animated Series but turned down the role. Pacino has since turned acclaimed performances in such crime dramas as ''Carlito's Way'' (1993), ''Donnie Brasco'' (1997), the multi-Oscar nominated ''The Insider'' (1999) and ''Insomnia'' (2002).
In 1995, Pacino starred in Michael Mann's ''Heat'', in which he and fellow film icon Robert De Niro appeared onscreen together for the first time. (Though both Pacino and De Niro starred in ''The Godfather Part II'', they did not share any scenes. The pairing drew much attention as the two actors have long been compared). In 1996, Pacino starred in his theatrical feature ''Looking for Richard'', and was lauded for his role as Satan in the supernatural drama ''The Devil's Advocate'' in 1997. Pacino also starred in Oliver Stone's critically acclaimed ''Any Given Sunday'' playing the team coach. The speech he performs in the film has become known world-wide as "the Al Pacino Speech" which is used to inspire many (mainly sportsmen/women) around the world.
Pacino has not received another nomination from the Academy since ''Scent of a Woman'', but has won two Golden Globes since 2000, the first being the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures, and the second for his role in the highly praised HBO miniseries ''Angels in America''.
Pacino has turned down several key roles in his career, including that of Han Solo in '', Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas, Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, Ted Kramer in Kramer Vs. Kramer, Paul Sheldon in Misery, Captain Willard in ''Apocalypse Now'' , Richard Sherman in a never-filmed remake of ''The Seven Year Itch'', and Edward Lewis in ''Pretty Woman''. In 1996, Pacino was slated to play General Manuel Noriega in a major biographical motion picture when director Oliver Stone pulled the plug on production to focus on his movie ''Nixon''. Pacino's greatest stage successes of the decade were in revivals of Eugene O'Neill's ''Hughie'' and Oscar Wilde's ''Salome.''

2000s

Pacino recently turned down an offer to reprise his role as Michael Corleone in '', ostensibly because his voice had changed dramatically since playing Michael in the first two Godfather films. As a result, Electronic Arts was not permitted to use Pacino's likeness or voice in the game, although his character does appear in it. It is rumored Pacino actually declined the role due to a conflict with Electronic Arts' rival, Vivendi Universal, which launched a competing game adaptation of the 1983 remake of ''Scarface'', titled ''. However, Pacino did not voice his character in this game for the same given reason. But Pacino did allow his likeness to be used for the game and even suggested the person who voice's Tony Montana in the game.
Pacino starred as lawyer Roy Cohn in the 2003 HBO miniseries of Tony Kushner's play ''Angels in America''.
Pacino still acts on stage and has dabbled in film directing. While ''The Local Stigmatic'' remains unreleased, his film festival-screened ''Chinese Coffee'' has earned good notices. On the ''AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains'', he is only the second actor to appear on both lists: on the "heroes list" as Frank Serpico and on the "villains list" as Michael Corleone.
On October 20, 2006, the American Film Institute named Pacino the recipient of the 35th AFI Life Achievement Award.^[5] On November 22, 2006, the University Philosophical Society of Trinity College, Dublin awarded Pacino the Honorary Patronage of the Society.^[6]
With his box office earnings relatively modest of late, Pacino looks to be gearing up with several new projects. He starred in Steven Soderbergh’s ''Ocean's Thirteen'' alongside George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Andy Garcia as the villain Willy Bank, a casino tycoon who is targeted out of revenge by Danny Ocean and his crew.
On June 19, 2007, a boxset titled was released, containing 3 rare Al Pacino films: The Local Stigmatic, Looking For Richard and Chinese Coffee. A documentary on Pacino's entire film career is also included.
Al Pacino's latest film 88 Minutes is due for release early next year (2008). Next scheduled for release is ''Righteous Kill'' where he will be teamed with his ''Heat'' co-star Robert DeNiro as two New York detectives searching for a serial killer while resolving issues between them. In ''Rififi'', a remake of the 1955 French original based on the novel by Auguste Le Breton, Pacino plays a career thief just out of prison who finds his wife has left him; in his anger, he starts planning a heist.^[7] Also Pacino is set to play surrealist Salvador Dalí in the film ''.^[8][9]

Personal life

Whilst Pacino has never married, he has three children. The first, Julie Marie, is his daughter with acting coach Jan Tarrant. He also has twins, Anton James and Olivia Rose (b. Jan 2001), with ex-girlfriend Beverly D'Angelo, whom
he was with from 1997-2001.
Over the course of his career Pacino has also been romantically involved with Debra Winger, Lyndall Hobbs and Tuesday Weld, as well as a past long-term relationship with his Godfather co-star Diane Keaton. Pacino also lived with actress Jill Clayburgh from 1970 to 1975.
In 1994 Pacino quit a daily habit of smoking 2 packs of cigarettes in order to protect his voice, which had developed into his well-known deep and husky tone.
His rivalry with fellow Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman is well documented^[10].

Awards

Academy Award

★ Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, ''The Godfather'' (1972)

★ Nominated: Best Actor, ''Serpico'' (1973)

★ Nominated: Best Actor, '' (1974)

★ Nominated: Best Actor, ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975)

★ Nominated: Best Actor, ''...And Justice for All'' (1979)

★ Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, ''Dick Tracy (film)'' (1990)

★ Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1992)

★ 'Won: Best Actor, ''Scent of a Woman'' (1992)'

BAFTA Award

★ Nominated: Best Newcomer, ''The Godfather'' (1973)

★ Nominated: Best Actor, ''Serpico'' (1975)

★ 'Won: Best Actor, '' (1974)'

★ 'Won: Best Actor, ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (1976)'

★ Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, ''Dick Tracy'' (1991)

Emmy Award

★ 'Won: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, ''Angels in America'' (2004)'

Golden Globe Award

★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''The Godfather'' (1973)

★ 'Won: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''Serpico'' (1974)

★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, '' (1975)

★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (1976)

★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''Bobby Deerfield'' (1978)

★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''...And Justice for All'' (1980)

★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical/Comedy, ''Author! Author!'' (1983)

★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''Scarface'' (1984)

★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''Sea of Love'' (1990)

★ Nominated: Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, ''Dick Tracy'' (1991)

★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, '' (1991)

★ Nominated: Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1993)

★ 'Won: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''Scent of a Woman'' (1993)'

★ 'Won: Cecil B. DeMille Award (2001)

★ 'Won: Best Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, ''Angels in America'' (2004)'

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1969	''Me, Natalie''	Tony	Movie Debut
1971	''The Panic in Needle Park''	Bobby
1972	''The Godfather''	Michael Corleone	Salary: $35,000
1973	''Scarecrow''	Francis Lionel 'Lion' Delbuchi
	''Serpico''	Frank Serpico
1974	''The Godfather Part II''	Michael Corleone	Salary: $500,000+10%profit
1975	''Dog Day Afternoon''	Sonny
1977	''Bobby Deerfield''	Bobby Deerfield
1979	''…And Justice for All''	Arthur Kirkland
1980	''Cruising''	Steve Burns
1982	''Author! Author!''	Ivan Travalian
1983	''Scarface''	Tony Montana
1985	''Revolution''	Tom Dobb
1989	''Sea of Love''	Frank Keller
1990	''Dick Tracy''	Big Boy Caprice
	''The Godfather Part III''	Michael Corleone	Salary: $5,000,000
	''The Local Stigmatic''	Graham
1991	''Frankie and Johnny''	Johnny
1992	''Scent of a Woman''	Frank Slade
	''Glengarry Glen Ross''	Ricky Roma
1993	''Carlito's Way''	Carlito 'Charlie' Brigante
1995	''Heat''	Vincent Hanna
	''Two Bits''	Gitano Sabatoni
1996	''Looking for Richard''	Director
	''City Hall''	John Pappas
1997	''Devil's Advocate''	John Milton
	''Donnie Brasco''	Benjamin 'Lefty' Ruggiero
1999	''Any Given Sunday''	Tony D'Amato
	''The Insider''	Lowell Bergman
2000	''Chinese Coffee''	Harry Levine	Also director
2002	''S1m0ne''	Viktor Taransky	Salary: $11,000,000
	''Insomnia''	Will Dormer
	''People I Know''	Eli Wurman
2003	''The Recruit''	Walter Burke
	''Angels in America''	Roy Cohn
	''Gigli''	Starkman
2004	''The Merchant of Venice''	Shylock
2005	''Two for the Money''	Walter Abrams
2007	''Ocean's Thirteen''	Willie Bank
	''88 Minutes''	Jack Gramm
	''	Salvador Dali

Awards

References

1. http://www.usaweekend.com/03_issues/030126/030126pacino.html
2. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800017701/bio
3. "Scarface" entry at boxofficemojo.com
4. [1]
5. [2]
6. [3]
7. [4]
8. Pacino to play Dalí at Empire.com
9. "Dalí & I" at The Hollywood Reporter
10. http://www.amazon.com/Life-Wire-Art-Al-Pacino/dp/1561711616

External links

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★

★

★ ''Los Angeles Times'', Sunday, Sept. 17, 1989: "Picasso Re-Focuses on Film Career: After Five-Year Absence, Actor Returns to the Big Screen", by Frank Lovece

★ Complete list of roles turned down by Al Pacino

★ Al Pacino's Fan Site

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