Al Pacino is an American film and theater actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is called the "godfather" of Hollywood. In the history of world cinema, he was remembered by the audience for such iconic images as the mafioso Michael Corleone, drug lord Tony Montana, Colonel Slade and even the Devil himself.
early years
Alfredo James (Al) Pacino was born on April 25, 1940 in New York City (East Harlem, Manhattan). His parents, Salvatore and Rosa Pacino, were originally from Italy, having moved to America in search of a better life. They married at a very early age, Salvatore was twenty and Rose was only seventeen. A year later, Alfredo was born, but this did not save an early marriage - the parents broke up and two-year-old Alfredo, together with his mother, moved to her parents on the outskirts of New York, in the South Bronx. They began to live with her parents Kate and James Gerardi, who were originally from the Sicilian town of Corleone. As a teenager, the future actor enters the famous School of the Arts in New York. His peers even then give him a nickname - "Actor".
Al Pacino grew up in a criminal area: at the age of nine he already started smoking, at the age of thirteen he began to use alcohol and soft drugs. He studied poorly and at the age of 17 he was expelled from school. Having quarreled over this with his mother, Alfredo leaves home. Having started an independent life, he moonlights as a cleaner, messenger, waiter, postman in order to earn money to continue his acting education. He also begins performing at HB Studio, a non-profit amateur theater run by Herbert Berghof. In this studio, he meets his future teacher, teacher and best friend - Charlie Loughton.
In 1966, after graduation, Al Pacino was admitted to a professional acting studio, where his career began. The beginning actor gets mostly dramatic roles in such performances as: "Wake up and Sing!", "America, Hurray", "The Indians Want the Bronx", "Richard III". In 1969 for playing in the play Does the Tiger Wear a Tie? Alfredo receives the prestigious Tony Theater Award.
In the future, having become a famous film actor, Al Pacino still does not leave the theater and plays in such performances as Salome, American Bison, Huey, and the production of The Merchant of Venice, which in 2010 was able to collect more than one million dollars.
Career
Al Pacino's film debut took place in 1969. It was a supporting role in the film "I, Natalie". In 1971, the actor starred in the second film, having already played the main role in the drama Panic in Needle Park. It was after this film that the actor was noticed by Francis Ford Coppola and invited to the Godfather trilogy for the main role of Michael Corleone. Also, Robert De Niro, James Caan, Martin Sheen, Robert Redford and Warren Beatty applied for this role, but Coppola turned down the other actors, approving Pacino. The role was as if created for Al Pacino. A hot-tempered character, Sicilian roots - this was what was needed for the role of the son of a mafioso.
This role transformed Al Pacino into a legendary Hollywood actor and earned him his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
After that, the actor's career continued to go uphill. Al Pacino has played many successful roles, earning Oscar nominations for films such as Serpico, The Godfather 2, Dog Afternoon. I would especially like to note the film "Scarface", where Al Pacino brilliantly played the Cuban drug lord Tony Montana. This film made forty-five million dollars in US theaters and became a cult film. Al Pacino considers this role to be the main one in his life. For this picture he was nominated for the Golden Globe.
In 1985, the actor's luck turned away. The film with his participation "Revolution" was called one of the most disastrous films in the history of cinema. After this unsuccessful film, the actor fell into depression, began to abuse alcohol. In his career, there was a creative crisis for four whole years.
Al Pacino returned to cinema in 1989, playing the role of a detective in Sea of Love. Then comes the painting by Warren Beatty "Dick Tracy" (1990), for the role in which the actor was nominated for an Oscar for the sixth time. In the same year, the third part of "The Godfather" was released, like the previous two, which had great success.
In 1992, Al Pacino received an Oscar for Best Actor in Scent of a Woman. After receiving the Oscar, the actor continues not only to act in films and play in the theater, but also gains recognition as a director and producer. In his career there are such directorial works as:
- "Shame of the District" (1990),
- Finding Richard (1996)
- "Chinese Coffee" (2000),
- Salome Wilde (2011).
The next most successful films of Al Pacino, the actor, can be called "The Americans", "Fight", "The Devil's Advocate", "Ocean's 13", "Insomnia".
Personal life
Al Pacino was never married, but this did not stop him from becoming a father of three children. There were many beautiful women in his life. Among them were: Martha Keller, Jill Clayburgh, Tuesday Weld, Lindall Hobbs, Kathleen Quinlan, Diane Keaton, Beverly d'Angelo.
In 1989, acting teacher Jen Tarrant gave birth to Al Pacino's daughter, Julia Marie Pacino. And in 2001, Al Pacino became the father of twins Olivia Rose and Anton James. With their mother, actress Beverly D'Angelo, Pacino had a long relationship. At the moment, the actor is a bachelor, but he tries to devote as much free time as possible to his children.
