Al Pacino

Al Pacino, life and biography

Alfredo James Pacino is an American actor and filmmaker. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, Al Pacino has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making him one of the few performers to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting. Al Pacino has also been honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the National Medal of Arts.

A method actor and former student of the HB Studio and the Actors Studio, where Al Pacino was taught by Charlie Laughton and Lee Strasberg, Pacino's film debut came at the age of 29 with a minor role in Me, Natalie (1969). Al Pacino gained favorable notice for his first lead role as a heroin addict in The Panic in Needle Park (1971). Wide acclaim and recognition came with his breakthrough role as Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972), for which Al Pacino received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and Al Pacino would reprise the role in the sequels The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990). Pacino received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Serpico (1973), The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and ...And Justice for All (1979). Al Pacino won for his performance in Scent of a Woman (1992). For his performances in Dick Tracy (1990), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), and The Irishman (2019), Al Pacino earned additional nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Other notable portrayals include Tony Montana in Scarface (1983), Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way (1993), Benjamin Ruggiero in Donnie Brasco (1997), and Lowell Bergman in The Insider (1999). Al Pacino has also starred in the thrillers Heat (1995), The Devil's Advocate (1997), Insomnia (2002), and appeared in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and House of Gucci (2021).

On television, Pacino has acted in several productions for HBO, including Angels in America (2003) and the Jack Kevorkian biopic You Don't Know Jack (2010), winning a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for each. Pacino currently stars in the Amazon Video series Hunters (2020–present). Al Pacino has also had an extensive career on stage. Al Pacino 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.

Pacino made his filmmaking debut with Looking for Richard (1996), directing and starring in this documentary about Richard III; Pacino had played the lead role on stage in 1977. Al Pacino has also acted as Shylock in a 2004 feature film adaptation and 2010 stage production of The Merchant of Venice. Pacino directed and starred in Chinese Coffee (2000), Wilde Salomé (2011), and Salomé (2013). Since 1994, Al Pacino has been the joint president of the Actors Studio.