Al Pacino Through the Years: His Iconic Roles in ‘The Godfather, and More

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Al Pacino Through the Years: His Iconic Roles in ‘The Godfather,’ ‘Scarface’ and More

Al Pacino will make you an offer you can’t refuse. The actor had just made his film debut in 1971’s The Panic in Needle Park when he caught the eye of director Francis Ford Coppola. The following year, Coppola cast him as Michael Corleone, one of his most iconic roles to date, in The Godfather. “Before The Godfather, the first Godfather, nobody else wanted me,” Pacino revealed to The Talks in August 2015. “But Francis wanted me! He just wanted me, and I didn’t understand it . . . The studios didn’t want me, nobody wanted me — nobody knew me. I think when a director is interested, I have a tendency to lean forward instead of backing off.” Pacino’s performance earned him an Oscar nomination and boosted him to stardom. He reprised the role in the sequels The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990), the latter earning him another Oscar nomination. When the Oscars ceremony came around, Pacino didn’t attend. Despite his success with the trilogy, Pacino had a hard time coping with his newfound fame and told The New York Times in March 2022 that “The Godfather gave me a new identity that was hard for me to cope with.” “I just was afraid to go. I was young, younger than even my years,” Pacino said at the time. “I was young in terms of the newness of all this. It was the old shot-out-of-a-cannon syndrome.” After The Godfather, Pacino was happy to star in Serpico (1973) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975), telling Vulture in March 2018 he “didn’t have to see Michael Corleone. I was flying.” He went on to star in Scarface (1983), Scent of a Woman (1992), Ocean’s Thirteen (2007), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and House of Gucci (2021). Keep scrolling to see Pacino’s career in photos:

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1967 to 1968

Pacino spent a season at the Charles Playhouse and made his stage debut in Awake and Sing! He also performed in America Hurrah where he met fellow actress Jill Clayburgh. The two went on to date for five years and moved to New York City together. 

In 1968, Pacino starred in the off-Broadway production of The Indian Wants the Bronx as Murph. Due to his performance, Pacino partnered with manager Martin Bregman and made his television debut with an appearance on ABC’s NYPD.

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1969

Pacino made his Broadway debut in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? as Bickham. He earned the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance.

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1973

Pacino starred as Michael Corleone in Coppola’s mafia film The Godfather. The iconic role earned Pacino his first Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations.

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1974

Pacino earned his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama for his role as the title character in Serpico (1973). He also reprised his Godfather role for the sequel Godfather Part II, earning another Oscar nomination.

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1977

The actor won his second Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance in The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel.

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1983

One of Pacino’s defining roles was as Tony Montana in Scarface (1983). He earned a best actor Golden Globe nomination for his performance.

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1985 to 1989

Pacino took a hiatus from films and returned to stage work following the critical failure of the historical film Revolution (1985). In 1988, he started dating acting coach Jan Tarrant and appeared in the production of Julius Caesar. Pacino returned to the big screen in 1989 in Sea of Love.

Months after the release of Sea of Love, Pacino welcomed daughter Julie with Tarrant in October 1989. The two called it quits sometime the following year. 

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1993

Pacino won the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Actor for his performance as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman (1992).

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1996 to 1999

Pacino went on to star in Looking for Richard (1996), The Devil’s Advocate (1997), Donnie Brasco (1997) and The Insider (1999).

In 1997, he started dating actress Beverly D’Angelo.

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2001 to 2003

Pacino was the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2001. In January of that year, he welcomed twins Anton James and Olivia Rose with D’Angelo. The two called it quits in 2003.

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2004

The Scarface actor earned the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture — Television for his portrayal of Roy Cohn in HBO’s Angels in America.

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2007

The Tony recipient starred alongside George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Elliott Gould and Andy Garcia in Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). He portrayed the villain Willy Bank.

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2010 to 2011

Pacino earned the Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and the best actor Golden Globe for his portrayal as the title character in You Don’t Know Jack (2010). 

The Oscar-winner returned to the stage in the summer of 2010 playing Shylock in the Shakespeare in the Park production of The Merchant of Venice, whom he had previously portrayed in Michael Radford’s 2004 film adaptation. The play moved to Broadway, earning Pacino a Tony Award nomination in 2011 for Best Leading Actor in a Play.

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2012

Pacino was awarded the National Medal of Arts by former president Barack Obama.

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2013 to 2015

Pacino starred in HBO’s biographical film Phil Spector (2013) based on the murder trials of record producer Phil Spector. He went on to star as the title role in Danny Collins (2015). Both films earned Pacino Golden Globe nominations for best actor. 

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2016

Pacino received the Kennedy Center Honors Award alongside Martha Argerich, Mavis Staples, James Taylor and The Eagles.

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2019

Pacino starred alongside Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). Later that year, he appeared in Netflix’s The Irishman (2019) with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

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2021

The Scarecrow actor portrayed Aldo Gucci in House of Gucci with Lady Gaga, Adam Driver and Jared Leto. Pacino praised Gaga’s performance in a November 2021 interview with Good Morning America saying, “She’s a great actress, and that’s all there is to it.”

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2022 to 2023

In 2022, Pacino started dating producer Noor Alfallah. The couple welcomed son Roman in June 2023 when Pacino was 83 and Alfallah was 29. In a September 2014 interview with The New Yorker, the Salomé star opened up about wanting to be present in his children’s lives — unlike his own father.

“Having children has helped a lot. I consciously knew that I didn’t want to be like my dad. I’m responsible to them,” Pacino said at the time. “I’m a part of their life. When I’m not, it’s upsetting to me and to them.”

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2024

Pacino presented the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 96th Academy Awards. 

The Hunters actor is set to star in and produce the biographical film Modì with Johnny Depp and Barry Navidi. Modì is centered around Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani played by Riccardo Scamarci while Pacino is featured in the supporting role of French art collector Maurice Gangnat. The film has no set release date but production started in September 2023.