photo: Kindly granted by Thomas Schulz, Wikipedia
Alfredo James Pacino (in English: Alfredo James Pacino) is an American actor.
He is of Sicilian origin. His maternal grandparents immigrated to the US from Corleone. Throughout his career, Pacino has been torn between his love of stage and screen. Although he is seen primarily as a theater actor, it is films that have made him famous around the world. His career spanned five decades and over thirty films.
was born in the Bronx, New York, on April 25, 1940, to Salvatore and Rose Pacino, who divorced when Pacino was still a child. His father Salvatore left the family when Alfredo was still a baby and his mother and her Sicilian parents took care of him. He grew up in Manhattan. As a teenager, he took on any number of jobs, including theater usher and construction supervisor. Pacino, however, has other dreams and very soon enrolled in Herbert Berghoff’s studio, where he studied drama (actually he started with comedy, he even sang, but his passion was drama) and arts. At the age of seventeen, he moved to central New York to continue his theater education.
His first role was in the theater production “Hello Out There”, directed by his mentor and friend Charles Lawton. In the mid-1960s he worked at Cafe La Mama and at The Living Theatre, where he played a number of supporting roles.
Al Pacino signed up to study at Lee Strasberg’s famous Actors Studio, where he learned the secrets of acting. In the late 1960s he worked at the Charles Theater in Boston, where he appeared in a number of productions such as America Hurrah and Awake and Sing (both 1967). In 1968, he returned to New York and starred in the play “The Indian Wants the Bronx”, for which he won the Theater Guild Award for Best Actor.
Another award followed, this time for a supporting role, for his performance in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? (1969). In the same year, the Association of Metropolitan Drama Critics announced him as the most promising young actor. After conquering the stage, Pacino decided to try in the cinema as well. Made her debut in 1969 in the movie Me, Natalie. Shortly after, he got his first leading role (as a drug addict) in Jerry Schatzberg’s Panic in Needle Park (1971).
Director Francis Ford Coppola was so impressed with his performance that he decided to cast him as Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972). It is undoubtedly one of the biggest roles in modern American cinema, despite the skeptical critics of the then almost unknown Pacino, in the presence of stars of the rank of Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson.
In the role of Michael from Coppola’s gangster saga, Pacino’s talent literally exploded. The film was received with rave reviews, and Pacino received his first Oscar nomination for supporting actor. Two years later, he repeated his success with the role of the now mature Michael Corleone in the sequel “The Godfather 2” (1974).
For his next projects, Pacino collaborated with director Sidney Lumet and the result was still impressive – two more Oscar nominations for the roles of an incorruptible cop in “Serpico” (“Serpico”, 1973) and a bisexual bank robber in “Dog Afternoon” (” Dog Day Afternoon’, 1975). Both films have been well-received for their original treatment of the current crime theme, and Pacino is proving to be a versatile actor. This was followed by his role as a lawyer in And Justice For All (1979), which earned him his fourth Academy Award nomination.
In Brian De Palma’s film Scarface (1983), Pacino is the infamous Cuban drug lord Tony Montana, and his partners are Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Loggia. After this film, the great actor was absent from the screen for 4 years. In 1989, he returned with the passionate thriller “Sea of Love” with Ellen Burkin. Later that year, he made his directorial debut with the film Local Stigmatic (1989). Seven years later, his second directorial effort, Looking for Richard, was critically acclaimed.
The 90s were very productive for Pacino. He participated in a number of major productions, performing a wide variety of roles. In 1990, for example, he won another Oscar nomination in the category of a supporting role in the Warren Beatty film “Dick Tracy” and for the third time he was Michael Corleone in “The Godfather 3”
After so many nominations, Pacino finally received his first Oscar for Best Actor for his role as a blind veteran in Martin Brest’s Scent of a Woman (1992), while also being nominated for the statuette for his supporting role in “Glengarry Glen Ross”. In 1993, he worked again under the direction of Brian De Palma in the film “Carlito’s Way”. In 1995, in tandem with Robert De Niro, he starred in Michael Mann’s memorable film “Heat”.
In 1997, Pacino again received a standing ovation for his role as a small-time gangster in Donnie Brasco, where he co-starred with Johnny Depp. In the same year, he also played the role of the Devil in the modern parable “The Devil’s Advocate”, in which he co-starred with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron. This was followed by another success in “The Insider”, starring Russell Crowe.
In January 2001, Pacino received a Golden Globe for his lifetime achievement.
In 2011, at the Venice Film Festival, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award during the premiere of Salome.
Pacino never married despite several long-term relationships with actresses Jill Clayburgh, Marti Keller, Diane Keaton and Beverly D’Angelo. In 1989, his daughter Julie Marie was born from his relationship with acting teacher Jean Tarrant. Pacino is known to be allergic to stardom and therefore stays away from the hustle and bustle of the world. He lives in a modest apartment in New York. He has two children from his last, already ex-girlfriend, the actress Beverly D’Angelo, whom he met in 1977 – the twins Anton and Olivia.
For an advertisement in “Petel” at a price of BGN 60 excluding VAT for a PR publication, write to [email protected]
Follow PETEL.BG every minute 24 hours a day!
See the latest news – HERE!
Fact-checking: Let us know if you see factual errors or irregularities in the article or comments. Write directly to [email protected]. We will pay attention!
Send your photos to [email protected] at any time to the editor on duty!
