Jun 28, 2008 06:43 PM
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(Updated Jun 28, 2008 06:47 PM)
There are good actors, there are bad actors, and there are great actors, but there are only a few exceptional actors. Al Pacino is one such exceptional actor, who lives and breathes cinema. His commitment to acting is just extraordinary. Regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time, Al Pacino has donned a range of characters over the years that are intense and unforgettable.
Born in New York on April 25, 1940 to Italian-American parents, Al and his mother went to live with his grandparent’s after his parents separated when he was 2 years old. Pacino had a fondness for acting right since his childhood days and would often enact and imitate the stars he’d see in the movies to his grandmother. Academics didn’t ignite any sort of interest in him.
He enjoyed acting in school plays after his teachers spotted his fondness for acting. However, he did not think of pursuing it as a career until he was 14. It was then that he decided to quit school and set sail in the path to stardom. After joining the theatre scene in New York, Al began to cultivate his basics in acting and appeared in a lot of stage plays during the ‘60s. But it was his stint with the legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg in 1966 that unleashed his true potentials.
After winning a few awards for his outstanding performances in theatre, Al made his first screen appearance in an episode of the television series N.Y.P.D in 1968. After an unsuccessful film debut in Me, Natalie that went largely unnoticed, he grabbed attention with The Panic In Needle Park in 1971. Incidentally, director Francis Ford Coppola noticed his performance and was eager to cast him the epic film The Godfather, the film that defined the icon. The producers were all against in Al Pacino getting the part and even threatened Coppola that he will be sacked along with him. However, Al Pacino’s extraordinary performance as an innocent civilian who under circumstances becomes the head of the mafia family silenced his critics. The role altered Al Pacino’s career map forever and earned him his first Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. He then starred in Sidney Lumet’s Serpico in 1973. Inspired by a true story of an undercover cop, it earned him his first Oscar nomination for best actor. He reprised his raise-to-fame role as Michael Corleone in The Godfather II, earning him his third Oscar nomination for best actor. Based on the true story of a bank robbery, he elevated into further success and fame with Dog Day Afternoon, fetching him yet another Oscar nomination. Pacino’s contrasting role following his Godfather saga clearly exemplified the actor’s enormous talents and showed ample glimpses of a born actor. He signed off the ‘70s in style with another Oscar nominated performance for his role as a defence attorney in And Justice For All. Though lucrative offers were pouring in, Al Pacino chose meaty scripts over money that attributed largely to his impeccable carer. He continued his association with his first love and amassed his second Tony award, (regarded as theatre’s equivalent to the Oscar’s) for his stage performance. The ‘80s began with initial hiccups when a couple of his films proved disastrous, but the actor bounced back strongly with a riveting performance in Scarface. His portrayal as a Cuban druglord powered by passion and vigour resulted in one of the most memorable performances of all time. Bad luck tailed when his follow up film proved more than disastrous, sending away the actor in a four-year hibernation from the silver screen. He duly returned back to theatre and stuck to his first home for four long years before facing the camera in 1989’s Sea Of Love.
A year later, he received another Oscar nomination in the all-star Dick Tracy for his stupendous performance as gangster Big Boy Caprice. After 16 years, he reprised his coveted role as Michael Corleone in the final instalment of The Godfather, bringing the saga to its grand finale. The Oscars finally beckoned the acting legend for his portrayal of a depressed, grumpy retired, and blind Lieutenant Colonel in Scent Of A Woman in 1992. He was nominated for the supporting actor award for Glengarry Glen Rose the same year, making him the first actor ever to receive two nominations for two different films the same year. He followed it with some acclaimed performances in Carlito’s Way, Donnie Brasco, Insider, Insomnia, and Heat.
He unceremoniously revealed his darker side in the supernatural drama The Devil’s Advocate as Satan. If his resume boasts of some ultimate classics, there are a few that the actor declined including Star Wars, Apocalypse Now, Goodfellas, and Pretty Woman. He was recently awarded the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to cinema. His method approach coupled with his fondness for variety has made him one of the most significant and unique actors of our generation. A veteran in the university of acting, Al Pacino is an icon who continues to surprise us with his versatility. With years passing by, we only hope the jewel shines forever in his forthcoming attractions. If one turns back the pages of history in the book of cinema, Al Pacino is a chapter that will comprise one of the most significant verses on the art of acting.
[This write-up is a product of extensive research through various digital media and the bible for online cinema info IMDB]
