Alfredo James Pacino, born on 25 April, 1940, in East Harlem, New York, is a living legend in Hollywood. Better known as Al Pacino, his name commands respect and he is considered to be one of the most influential superstars.
He has won accolades and awards galore. Be it an Academy Award or a Golden Globe, a Tony, a BAFTA an Emmy or a SAG award, Al Pacino has won them all.
Al Pacino is perhaps best remembered for his roles as Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy (1972, 1974 and 1990), the brilliant Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman (1992) and Tony Montana in Scarface (1983).
Pacino lived with his grandparents after his parents, Rose and Salvatore, divorced. He gave up school at 17 and it was a tough road to stardom. At times, Pacino did not have enough money for the bus fare to get to his auditions. In 1966, he joined the prestigious Actors Studio and trained under the legendary coach Lee Strasberg, who made significant advances in the Method Approach.
After starring in a few plays, Pacino made his film debut in Me, Natalie (1969). Director Francis Ford Coppola was casting for The Godfather. Stars like Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson and Ryan O’Neal were being tried out. While the cast, the crew and the producers were all against Pacino, Coppola continued to favour the little known Italian actor. Pacino bagged the role and his life was never the same again. He had arrived with a big bang in Hollywood.
Pacino won his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for The Godfather. He then went on to make some difficult movie choices that showed the audience his range including the crime drama Serpico (1973), tragic bank robbery movie Dog Day Afternoon (1975), The Godfather: Part III (1990), Carlito’s Way (1993), Michael Mann’s epic Heat (1995) and The Insider (1999). Pacino explored new genres, like comedy with Dick Tracy (1990) and romance in Frankie and Johnny (1991). He won Academy Award nominations for three consecutive years in the Best Actor category.
Pacino’s awards include an Academy Award for Best Actor for Scent of a Woman and seven nominations; two BAFTA awards and three nominations; one Emmy Award; and four Golden Globe Awards and eleven nominations.
Al Pacino has a daughter Julie Marie with acting coach Jan Tarrant and has twins with Beverly D’Angelo, with whom he was in a relationship from 1997 until 2001.
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