For the 85th birthday of Al Pacino: the godfather, the scar face, the laughing number

Al Pacino (85) is one of the largest character mimes that the dream factory has ever produced. At 1.70m, the height of the actor born in New York on April 25, 1940 is not meant. The fact that “the godfather” by Francis Ford Coppola (86) should be the initial ignition of his unprecedented career is not surprising superstitious cineastes – because, like his professional success, the life of Pacino is due to the name Corleone.

Born in Sicily, more precisely in the city of Corleone – we talk about Alfredo James “Al” Pacino’s father. Salvatore Pacino later ended up for a job as an insurance seller to the USA, where he met his wife Rose. However, today’s world star did not notice his old gentleman. After the divorce of the parents, Pacino is only two at that time, he and his mother moved from Manhattan to the South Bronx, where his Sicilian grandparents also lived.

Pacino was initially a foreign word. Problematic youth, finally thrown off school at 17, poor wages as a card injuneration and place in the way in theaters. Difficult to say where Pacino would have gone would not have been a huge passion – that for the spectacle. A total of three drama schools attended today’s birthday child and increasingly made a name for itself as a theater actor.

Relatively late, at the age of 29, Pacino celebrated his film debut in the comedy drama “I, Natalie” in 1969. Due to the casting swing fire that lasted for decades, he did not have to torture himself before the breakthrough was waiting for him. Just over two years after the screen premiere, in 1972, Pacino built as Michael Corleone, director Francis Ford Coppola, the insane genius Marlon Brando (1924-2004) and the three-hour gangster epic “Der Pate” a cinematic monument. One that was impressively expanded by the two sequels in 1974 and 1990.

Pacino’s most memorable roles are all those in which he travels the law with feet. In addition to “the godfather”, of course, Brian de Palmas (84) “Scarface” must be mentioned, in which people are treated with chainsaws and, as Tony Montana, scolds more than an unfair tube sparrow. Not to forget the legendary sentence “My little friend is waiting for you!” (“Say hello to my little friends!”) And also in “Hundstage” (1975) Pacino did not have it so with righteousness, in 1997 he even slipped into the role of the body – “on behalf of the devil”.

“Better to rule in hell than to serve in heaven”? Not entirely, often enough, Pacino found himself on the right side of the law. As an idealistic lawyer in “… and justice for everyone” (1979), or as more (“Serpico”, 1973), sometimes less righteous cop (“Insomnia”, 2002) – even his own “godfather” papa Robert de Niro (81) he put the criminal craft in “1995). To the present day, Pacino’s slope runs to represent the canvas law – or only to step. As a corrupt Jimmy Hoffa, he shone in Martin Scorseses (82) “The Irishman” (again alongside de Niro) in Martin Scorseses (82), from 2020 he chased diabolical Nazi henchmen in his serial debut.

Pacino found recognition for his bandwidth. So far, the mime has received nine Oscar nominations, two of them for “the godfather I & II”. In his only win of the gold boy to this day, however, he did not slip in the police uniform or in the gangster role, but into that of the bitter, blind war veteran in “The fragrance of women” (1992).

According to reports, Pacino should have even played another woman whisperer – but he allegedly refused and so Richard Gere (75) ran into a “Pretty Woman” in his place. Speaking of: Beautiful women also hit Pacino away from the cameras. The best evidence is his four children: a daughter with Jan Tarrant, twins with the actress and singer Beverly d’Angelo and a boy with his ex-girlfriend Noor Alfallah. The latter offspring caused a sensation – after all, he was not born until 2023 and thus made Pacino a fishing daddy at the age of 83.

But one thing has never been found to this day – a ring on the Hollywood star finger. In his autobiography “Sonny Boy” published in 2024, why this was a conscious decision: “I always spared myself from marriage. I probably didn’t see how she would help me. I just wanted to avoid what I thought was inevitable at the time – a train towards pain.”

Does he regret that in retrospective? However, there should be less doubt about the greatest embarrassment in the otherwise remarkable résumé of the star. It was 2011 when Pacino made perhaps the biggest mistake of his life and took on a role in the Adam Sandler comedy “Jack and Jill”. He did it because he was “completely broke”. The reward for his participation in the catastrophic work? Two golden raspberries, his so far and hopefully forever.