Al Pacino Biography

Al Pacino went from success on the New York stage to almost instant stardom in the movies, thanks to his Oscar-nominated role as Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola‘s The Godfather (1972, also starring Marlon Brando).

Pacino was a critical and popular hit in the 1970s, specializing in gritty dramas such as real-life cop Serpico (1973, Oscar nomination), The Godfather, Part II (1974, Oscar nomination), Dog Day Afternoon, (1975, Oscar nomination) and …And Justice for All (1979, Oscar nomination).

In the ’80s he made only a handful of films, but in the ’90s he made more than a dozen movies, including 1992’s Scent of a Woman, for which he won an Oscar, Glengarry Glen Ross (1992, Oscar nomination), Heat (1995, co-starring Robert DeNiro) and The Insider (1999, with Russell Crowe).

One of the most celebrated actors in movie history, Pacino hasn’t lead a box office money-maker since 2002’s Insomnia (with Robin Williams), but he’s still going strong.

His many films include Donnie Brasco (1997, with Johnny Depp); The Recruit (2003, with Colin Farrell); Ocean’s 13 (2007, starring George Clooney); Righteous Kill (2008, with DeNiro again); a string of forgettable films from 2010 up until Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), The Irishman (2019, and another Oscar for a supporting role) and House of Gucci (2021, starring Lady Gaga).

On television, Pacino starred as Dr. Jack Kevorkian in You Don’t Know Jack (2010) and won an Emmy. He also played the title roles in Phil Spector (2013) and Paterno (2018, and an Emmy nomination).