On This Day

Birthday of Al Pacino

April 25th 1940

11:41 25 April 2024

American actor and filmmaker Al Pacino was born on this day in 1940. Pacino made his film debut aged 29 with a small role in 'Me, Natalie' (1969). His first lead role as a heroin addict in 'The Panic in Needle Park' (1971) brought him to the attention of Francis Ford Coppola who cast him as Michael Corleone in 'The Godfather' (1972) which proved to be his breakthrough role and earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. For his performance in 'Scarecrow' (1973), starring alongside Gene Hackman, he won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Best Actor Oscar nominations followed for 'Serpico' (1973), 'The Godfather Part II' (1974) and 'Dog Day Afternoon' (1975).

The early 1980s saw Pacino's career take a slump after William Friedkin's controversial 'Cruising' (1980) provoked protests from the gay community and Arthur Hiller's 'Author! Author!' (1982) was critically panned. However, things soon changed after his portrayal of Cuban drug lord Tony Montana in Brian De Palma's 'Scarface' (1983)  became one of his career highlights.

The early 1990s brought further success with roles in 'Dick Tracy' (1990), 'The Godfather Part III' (1990), 'Glengarry Glen Ross' (1992) and 'Scent of a Woman' (1992) for which he finally secured an Academy Award for Best Actor, having had seven previous unsuccessful Oscar nominations.

Other notable film credits include 'Carlito's Way' (1993), 'Heat' (1995), 'Donnie Brasco' (1997), 'The Devil's Advocate' (1997), 'The Insider' (1999), 'Insomnia' (2002), 'The Merchant of Venice' (2004), 'Ocean's Thirteen' (2007), 'Righteous Kill' (2008), 'Stand Up Guys' (2012), 'Danny Collins' (2015), 'Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood' (2019), 'The Irishman' (2019), 'House of Gucci' (2021) and 'Knox Goes Away' (2023).

Al Pacino emerged as a major acting talent in the New Hollywood era of the 1970s. Over the decades that followed he has gone on to become one of the greatest actors of his generation. Happy Birthday Al.