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Al Pacino

Acting

Born April 25, 1940 · New York City, New York, USA

Also known as Alfredo James Pacino

Biography

Alfredo James Pacino (born April 25, 1940) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a career spanning over five decades, he has received many awards and nominations, including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. He is one of the few performers to have received the Triple Crown of Acting. He 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 he 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). He 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 he received his first Oscar nomination, and he would reprise the role in the sequels The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990). His portrayal of Michael Corleone is regarded as one of the greatest in film history. 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), ultimately winning it for playing a blind military veteran in Scent of a Woman (1992). For his performances in The Godfather, Dick Tracy (1990), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), and The Irishman (2019), he earned Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominations. 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). He 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). 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 web television series Hunters (2020–present). He has also had an extensive career on stage. He 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. He 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, he has been the joint president of the Actors Studio.​ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Awards & recognition

  • Kennedy Center Honors · 2016
  • Golden Globe AwardBest Actor – Miniseries or Television Film · 2011
  • National Medal of Arts · 2011
  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie · 2010
  • AFI Life Achievement Award · 2007
Show all 36 awards →
  • Golden Globe AwardBest Actor – Miniseries or Television Film · 2004
  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie · 2004
  • Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award · 2001
  • Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directing – Documentaries · 1997
  • Donostia Award · 1996
  • Golden LionLifetime Achievement · 1994
  • Academy AwardBest Actor · 1993
  • Golden Globe AwardBest Actor – Motion Picture Drama · 1993
  • Academy Awards · 1992
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Play · 1977
  • BAFTA AwardBest Actor in a Leading Role · 1976
  • Golden Globe AwardBest Actor – Motion Picture Drama · 1974
  • National Board of Review AwardBest Actor · 1974
  • National Board of Review AwardBest Supporting Actor · 1973
  • National Society of Film Critics AwardBest Actor · 1973
  • Theatre World Award · 1969
  • Tony AwardBest Featured Actor in a Play · 1969
  • 10th Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • Goldene Kamera 2013
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actor · 2020 · nominated
  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie · 2013 · nominated
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Play · 2011 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actor · 1993 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actor · 1993 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actor · 1991 · nominated
  • Golden Raspberry AwardWorst Actor · 1986 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actor · 1980 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actor · 1976 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actor · 1975 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actor · 1974 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actor · 1973 · nominated

Filmography50+ titles

The Godfather

1972as Michael Corleone

The Godfather Part II

1974as Don Michael Corleone

Scarface

1983as Tony Montana

Heat

1995as Lt. Vincent Hanna

In the Name of the Father

1993Thanks

Carlito's Way

1993as Carlito Brigante

Scent of a Woman

1992as Lt. Col. Frank Slade

Dog Day Afternoon

1975as Sonny

The Irishman

2019as Jimmy Hoffa

Angels in America

2003as Roy Cohn

The Irishman: In Conversation

2019as Self

The Insider

1999as Lowell Bergman

The Devil's Advocate

1997as John Milton

Donnie Brasco

1997as Benjamin 'Lefty' Ruggiero

Serpico

1973as Officer Frank Serpico

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

2019as Marvin Schwarz

The Godfather Part III

1990as Michael Corleone

Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait

2017as Self

Glengarry Glen Ross

1992as Ricky Roma

Sly

2023as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Hunters

2020as Meyer Offerman / Wilhelm Zuchs

And Justice for All

1979as Arthur Kirkland

Scarecrow

1973as Francis Lionel 'Lion' Delbuchi

Knox Goes Away

2023as Xavier Crane

You Don't Know Jack

2010as Dr. Jack Kevorkian

I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale

2009as Self

Insomnia

2002as Will Dormer

The Pirates of Somalia

2017as Seymour Tolbin

Casting By

2012as Self

Breakdown: 1975

2025as Sonny Wortzik (archive footage)

How to Rob a Bank

2024as Lt. Vincent Hanna (archive footage)

The Merchant of Venice

2004as Shylock

Any Given Sunday

1999as Tony D'Amato

Looking for Richard

1996as Self / Richard III

Frankie and Johnny

1991as Johnny

Danny Collins

2015as Danny Collins

Ocean's Thirteen

2007as Willy Bank

Over Your Dead Body

2026as Audiobook Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

House of Gucci

2021as Aldo Gucci

Sea of Love

1989as Frank Keller

Cruising

1980as Steve Burns

60 Minutes

1968as Self

Dead Man's Wire

2025as M.L. Hall

The Recruit

2003as Walter Burke

Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness

2024as Maurice Gangnat

Paterno

2018as Joe Paterno

Madonna: Truth or Dare

1991as Self

Dick Tracy

1990as Big Boy Caprice

Two for the Money

2005as Walter Abrams

Stand Up Guys

2012as Valentine "Val"