Biography

Al Pacino was an only child who was raised in East HarlemA by his father Salvatore and mother Rose. After his parents divorced when he was 2 Al and his mother moved in with her parents in a poor neighborhood near the Bronx Zoo. At fourteen, Pacino attended a performance of Chekhov's The Seagull at Elsmere Theater in the South Bronx, whereupon he decided to transfer to the High School of the Performing Arts. Poor acedemic performance led him to drop out at 17. He spent several years drifting from odd job to odd job, working variously as a mail deliverer in the offices of Commentary magazine, a messenger, an usher in a movie theatre, and as a building superintendent. But his life wasn't all errands and leaky faucets--during this period, Pacino began taking acting classes and appearing in basement-staged plays of little repute. He squirrelled away enough money to enroll at the Herbert Berghof Studio, where he trained under drama coach Charlie Laughton

Filmography

Angels in America (2003) (TV) .... Roy Cohn
Gigli (2003) .... Starkman
Recruit, The (2003) .... Walter Burke
People I Know (2002) .... Eli Wurman
S1m0ne (2002) .... Viktor Taransky
Insomnia (2002) .... Will Dormer
Ultimate Fights from the Movies (2002) (V)(archive footage) .... Tony Montana (Scarface)
America: A Tribute to Heroes (2001) (TV) .... Himself
Chinese Coffee (2000) .... Harry Levine
Any Given Sunday (1999) .... Tony D'Amato
Insider, The (1999) .... Lowell Bergman
Pitch (1997)(uncredited) .... Himself
Devil's Advocate, The (1997) .... John Milton
Donnie Brasco (1997) .... Benjamin 'Lefty' Ruggerio
Looking for Richard (1996) .... Richard III/Himself
City Hall (1996) .... Mayor John Pappas
Heat (1995) .... Vincent Hanna
Two Bits (1995) .... Gitano Sabatoni
... aka Day to Remember, A (1995)
67th Annual Academy Awards, The (1995) (TV)(uncredited) .... Himself
Jonas in the Desert (1994) .... Himself
Carlito's Way (1993) .... Carlito Brigante
65th Annual Academy Awards, The (1993) (TV) .... Himself (winner, Best Actor)
Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980, The (1992) (V) .... Don Michael Corleone
... aka Godfather Saga, The (1992) (V) (USA)
... aka Godfather Trilogy, The (1992) (V)
Scent of a Woman (1992) .... Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) .... Richard 'Ricky' Roma
Godfather Family: A Look Inside, The (1991) (TV) .... Himself
Frankie and Johnny (1991) .... Johnny
Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991)(uncredited) .... Himself
... aka In Bed with Madonna (1991) (UK)
... aka Truth or Dare (1991)
Godfather: Part III, The (1990) .... Don Michael 'Mike' Corleone
... aka Mario Puzo's The Godfather: Part III (1990) (USA: complete title)
Dick Tracy (1990) .... Big Boy Caprice
Local Stigmatic, The (1989)
Sea of Love (1989) .... Detective Frank Keller
Revolution (1985) .... Tom Dobb
Scarface (1983) .... Antonio 'Tony' Montana
Author! Author! (1982) .... Ivan Travalian
Cruising (1980) .... Steve Burns
...And Justice for All (1979) .... Arthur Kirkland
Bobby Deerfield (1977) .... Bobby Deerfield
... aka Heaven Has No Favorites (1977) (Australia)
America at the Movies (1976) .... (archive footage)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) .... Sonny
Godfather: Part II, The (1974) .... Don Michael 'Mike' Corleone
... aka Mario Puzo's The Godfather: Part II (1974) (USA: complete title)
Serpico (1973) .... Frank Serpico
Scarecrow (1973) .... Lion
Godfather, The (1972) .... Michael 'Mike' Corleone
... aka Mario Puzo's The Godfather (1972) (USA: complete title)
Panic in Needle Park, The (1971) .... Bobby
Me, Natalie (1969) .... Tony