Pacino << puh CHEE noh >> , Al (1940-…), is an American actor known for his brooding, intense acting style. Pacino gained fame in the “Godfather” motion-picture trilogy (set of three). Pacino played Michael Corleone, the head of a vast organized crime operation. The trilogy consists of The Godfather (1972), based on a novel of the same name; The Godfather, Part II (1974); and The Godfather, Part III (1990). Pacino won the 1992 Academy Award as best actor for his performance in Scent of a Woman.
Alfredo James Pacino was born in New York City on April 25, 1940. Pacino dropped out of school at the age of 17. He made a living doing odd jobs for several years before enrolling in acting school. Pacino won acting awards for his performances in Broadway and off-Broadway plays, including The Indian Wants the Bronx (1968), Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? (1969), and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (1977).
Pacino made his first motion-picture appearance in Me, Natalie (1969). His performance as a drug addict in The Panic in Needle Park (1971) led to his being cast in the “Godfather” films. Pacino’s other movies include Serpico (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), …And Justice for All (1979), Scarface (1983), Sea of Love (1989), Dick Tracy (1990), Frankie and Johnny (1991), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Heat (1995), Donnie Brasco (1997), and The Insider and Any Given Sunday (both 1999). Some of his later films are Insomnia (2002); The Merchant of Venice (2004); Phil Spector (2013), about an American music producer; The Humbling (2014); Danny Collins (2015); and The Irishman (2019).
Pacino both directed and acted in the documentary films Looking for Richard (1996), about a staging of William Shakespeare’s play Richard III ; and Wilde Salomé (2011), about a staging of Oscar Wilde’s play Salomé (1893). Pacino also co-stars in the web television series “Hunters” (2020-). Such series are produced for distribution via the internet.
In addition to his Academy Award, Pacino won Emmy Awards for his acting in the TV miniseries Angels in America (2003) and the TV movie You Don’t Know Jack (2010), about the American physician Jack Kevorkian . Pacino became a Kennedy Center honoree in 2016.
