Happy birthday Al Pacino! As the award-winning actor celebrates his birthday, take a look back at the most iconic roles he has played throughout his career.
The Oscar-winning actor has starred in more than 50 roles throughout his acting career as well as producing his own movies. As Pacino celebrates his birthday, take a look back at his most notable movie roles through the years.
One of Al Pacino’s most notable roles to date was as Michael Corleone in the 1972 classis ‘The Godfather.” After acting in his debut film “The Panic in Needle Park” in 1971, Pacino caught the eye of director Francis Ford Coppola who cast him in the Mafia blockbuster “The Godfather” the following year. Pacino beat out established actors Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford and Robert De Niro for the role and landed an Academy Award nomination for his performance.
The following year, Pacino was cast as Frank Serpico, a New York City policeman in the action-packed thriller “Serpico.” Pacino’s character goes undercover to expose the corruption of his fellow officers and was actually based off of a true story. Pacino was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role and also co-starred in “Scarecrow” during the same year.
The following year, Pacino went on to reprise his role as Michael Corleone in the 1974 sequel “The Godfather: Part II.” The film became the first sequel to win the Oscar for Best Picture while Pacino was nominated for his third Oscar.
The next year in 1975, Pacino went on to star in yet another major role as Sonny Wortzik in the crime drama “Dog Day Afternoon.” The film was based on the true story of Brooklyn bank robber John Wojtowicz and went on to be nominated for several Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards winning the Oscar for Original Screenplay.
After a few years starring in films like “Bobby Deerfield,” “…And Justice for All” and “Cruising,” Pacino landed probably his most notable role as Tony Montana in the 1983 hit film “Scarface.” Although the film was critically panned at first due to its violent and graphic scenes, it later received critical acclaim and turned into a box office hit. Pacino went on to obtain a Golden Globe nomination for his role as the Cuban drug lord Montana.
After a personal project and a few box office failures, Pacino took 4 years off from acting to take on theater productions. In 1990, Pacino went on to star in two films including “The Godfather: Part III” as he returned as to play his most famous character Michael Corleone. This film, however, did not get nearly as much attention as the first two and received mixed reviews.
1992 was a big year for Pacino as he starred in two box office hits including “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “Scent of a Woman,” as pictured here. Pacino starred in the film as Army Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade. His character is a blind medically retired officer that enlists the help of a prep school student as his assistant.
In 1993, Pacino went on to portray Carlito Brigante alongside Sean Penn in the 1993 classic “Carlito’s Way.” Pacino’s character was a gangster released from prison with the help of his lawyer for a promise to get his life together. However, he ends up being dragged into the same criminal life he had before he landed in prison.
In 1995, Pacino went on to star in the crime thriller “Heat” as Lt. Vincent Hanna alongside Robert De Niro. Contrary to his usual roles, Pacino this time played the detective hunting down a professional thief and his crew. The film was a box office success and was well received by critics.
In one of Pacino’s final major roles, he portrayed mafia gangster “Lefty” Ruggiero in the true story about an undercover FBI agent (Donnie Brasco, played by Johnny Depp) who brings down the mafia from the inside. Since “Donnie Brasco,” Pacino went on to star in films like “Insomnia,” “The Recruit” and “Righteous Kill.” In addition to numerous awards and nominations for his films, Pacino also reviewed various lifetime achievement awards and continues to act well into his 70s.
