Oscar Profile #241: Al Pacino

Born April 25, 1940 in the East Harlem, New York to Rose and Salvatore Pacino who divorced when he was two, Al Pacino was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents in the Bronx. Easily bored in school, he passed the time repeating plots and character voices from the films he had seen. Acting in basement theaters and often homeless after the death of his mother in 1962 and his grandfather in 1963, he eventually made it to the Actors Studio run by Lee Strasberg.

Making his Broadway debut in 1969’s Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? , Pacino won a Tony for his performance. He later won a second Tony for 1977’s The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel. The actor made his screen debut in a minor, but impressive role in 1969’s Me, Natalie. He had his first starring role in 1971’s The Panic in Needle Park.

Pacino became a major star with his portrayal of Michael Corleone in 1972’s The Godfather for which he received the first of his eight Oscar nominations to date. He followed that with acclaimed performances in 1973’s Scarecrow and Serpico for which he received his second Oscar nomination, 1974’s The Godfather Part I I for which he earned his third nomination and 1975’s Dog Day Afternoon for which he received his fourth consecutive nomination.

The actor stumbled with a poorly received performance in 1977’s Bobby Deerfield. Although 1979’s …And Justice for All met with mixed reviews, he was nevertheless given a fifth Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a brash lawyer. 1982’s Author! Author! was a box office flop but 1983’s Scarface was a major success. 1985’s Revolution provided Pacino with some of the worst reviews of his career while 1989’s Sea of Love brought his some of his best. Oscar ignored his third outing as Michael Corleone in 1990’s The Godfather Part III but nominated him in support that year for his comic gangster in Dick Tracy. 1992 brought him his seventh and eighth nominations for Scent of a Woman in lead and Glengarry Glen Ross in support. He finally won for Scent.

Post-Oscar, Pacino starred in such hits as 1995’s Heat, 1997’s Donnie Brasco and Devil’s Advocate, 1999’s The Insider and 2002’s Insomnia. 2003’s Angels in America won him the first of two Primetime Emmys for his portrayal of political operator Roy Cohn. His second would come for his portrayal of Dr. Kevorkian in 2010’s You Don’t Know Jack. He would receive a third nomination for his 2013 portrayal of yet another real life character, music promotor Phil Spector.

While most of Pacino’s recent films have not met with much acclaim, 2015’s Danny Collins has gotten him his best reviews in years.

At 75, Pacino remains one of the most respected actors of our time.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

THE GODFATHER (1972), directed by Francis Ford Coppola

One of the most highly anticipated films in cinema history, Pacino scored the coveted role of Michael Corleone, son of Vito Corleone, the title character played by Marlon Brando. The film was both a critical and box-office success, and to this day often appears at the top of people’s lists as their favorite film of all time.

Pacino would go on to play Vito Corleone’s successor as the Mafia chief in two acclaimed sequels, 1974’s The Godfather Part II and 1990’s The Godfather Part III. Pacino would receive the first and third of his eight Oscar nominations to date for the first two Godfather, both of which would win Oscars for Best Picture.

SERPICO (1973), directed by Sidney Lumet

Pacino proved his versatility with his portrayal of the real-life undercover cop who blows the whistle on his corrupt fellow policemen. He would win the Golden Globe, National Board of Review and National Society of Film Critics awards for his performance as well as his second Oscar nomination.

The actor would receive his fourth Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the real-life bank robber whose motivation is to obtain money for his lover’s (Chris Sarandon) sex-change operation. The film was also directed by Serpico’s Lumet.

SCARFACE (1983), directed by Brian De Palma

De Palma’s updated remake of the 1932 classic was penned by Oliver Stone turning Paul Muni’s Italian immigrant gangster into a Cuban immigrant played by Pacino. Although the film was generally dismissed by critics, it made so much money at the box office that it was in the conversation for year-end awards, taking three Golden Globe nominations including one for Pacino. Oscar, however, didn’t bite.

SCENT OF A WOMAN (1992), directed by Martin Brest

Pacino finally won his long anticipated Oscar for his portrayal of the irascible blind man in this Hollywood remake of the 1974 Italian film with Vittorio Gassman which had received Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Film and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Although it was generally conceded that it was Pacino’s turn, there was irony in the fact that when Pacino lost for Serpico 18 years earlier, the winner was Jack Lemmon for Save the Tiger. Lemmon had started out the 1992 awards season with a big win form the National Board of Review for Glengarry Glen Ross. Not only was Lemmon overlooked in the Oscar nominations, Pacino turned out to be the only actor Glengarry, having gotten a second nod this year for the film in the Supporting Actor category.

DANNY COLLINS (2015), directed by Dan Fogelman

For the last twelve years Pacino’s best work has been on TV. Finally with his portrayal of the aging rock star in Danny Collins he has received the kind of reviews he used to receive routinely.

The actor plays a once popular 1970s singer receives a long missing fan letter from John Lennon from his manager (Christopher Plummer) that becomes the inspiration for his seeking out the grown son he has long ignored. Bonny Cannavale plays the son, Jennifer Garner the son’s new wife and Anne Bening Pacino’s latest girlfriend.