Al Pacino

Is one of twelve actors to have been nominated for both a Supporting and Lead Acting Academy Award in the same year. The other ten are Barry Fitzgerald Fay Bainter, Teresa Wright, Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, Emma Thompson, Holly Hunter, Julianne Moore, Jamie Foxx, Cate Blanchett and Scarlett Johansson. Pacino was the second male actor, after Fitzgerald, to have been nominated for both a Best Supporting Actor and a Best Actor Oscar in the same year; the third is Foxx, who was nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in 2005.

In 2004, he became the 18th performer to win the Triple Crown of Acting. Oscar: Best Actor, Scent of a Woman (1992); Tony: Best Supporting Actor-Play "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?" (1969) and Best Actor-Play "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" (1977); and Emmy: Best Actor-Miniseries/Movie, Angels in America (2003).

During the making of The Recruit (2003), he met and became close friends with Colin Farrell. He went on to call Farrell the most talented actor of his generation.

Reteaming with Mann and then Oliver Stone, he gave commanding performances in The Insider (1999) and Any Given Sunday (1999).

Ranked #4 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]

He directed the film adaptation of Shakespeare's Looking for Richard (1996).

During this period, City Hall (1996), Donnie Brasco (1997) and The Devil's Advocate (1997) all came out.

Stopped a two-pack-a-day smoking habit to protect his voice (1994). In the mid-1980s, he had been smoking four packs of cigarettes a day. He now only occasionally smokes herbal cigarettes.

Carlito's Way (1993) proved another gangster classic, as did the epic crime drama Heat (1995) directed by Michael Mann and co-starring Robert De Niro.

This earned him another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and two years later he was nominated for Glengarry Glen Ross (1992).

In 1992, he finally won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his amazing performance in Scent of a Woman (1992). A mixture of technical perfection (he plays a blind man) and charisma, the role was tailor-made for him, and remains a classic. The next few years would see Pacino becoming more comfortable with acting and movies as a business, turning out great roles in great films with more frequency and less of the demanding personal involvement of his wilder days.

He went into romantic mode for Frankie and Johnny (1991).

He directed a film, The Local Stigmatic (1990), but it remains unreleased.

Returning to the Corleones, Pacino made The Godfather Part III (1990) and earned raves for his first comedic role in the colorful adaptation Dick Tracy (1990).

He lifted his self-imposed exile with the striking Sea of Love (1989) as a hard-drinking policeman. This marked the second phase of Pacino's career, being the first to feature his now famous dark, owl eyes and hoarse, gravelly voice.

Revolution (1985) endured an endless and seemingly cursed shoot in which equipment was destroyed, weather was terrible, and Pacino fell ill with pneumonia. Constant changes in the script further derailed the project. The Revolutionary War-themed film, considered among the worst films ever made, resulted in awful reviews and kept him off the screen for the next four years. Returning to the stage, Pacino did much to give back and contribute to the theatre, which he considers his first love.

Pacino took on another vicious gangster role and cemented his legendary status in the ultra-violent cult film Scarface (1983), but a monumental mistake was about to follow.

Unfortunately, this would signal the beginning of a decline in his career, which produced flops like Cruising (1980) and Author! Author! (1982).

Turned down the role of Ted Kramer in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), which went to Dustin Hoffman.

He faltered slightly with Bobby Deerfield (1977), but regained his stride with And Justice for All (1979), for which he received another Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

He and Chris Sarandon improvised their scene on the phone in the film Dog Day Afternoon (1975).

His performance as Michael Corleone in The Godfather: Part II (1974) is ranked #20 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

However, instead of taking on easier projects for the big money he could now command, Pacino threw his support behind what he considered tough but important films, such as the true-life crime drama Serpico (1973) and the tragic real-life bank robbery film Dog Day Afternoon (1975). He was nominated three consecutive years for the "Best Actor" Academy Award.

The role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) was one of the most sought-after of the time: Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Ryan O'Neal, Robert De Niro and a host of other actors either wanted it or were mentioned, but director Francis Ford Coppola wanted Pacino for the role. Coppola was successful but Pacino was reportedly in constant fear of being fired during the very difficult shoot. The film was a monster hit that earned Pacino his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

That was followed by a Tony Award for "Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie?" His first feature films made little departure from the gritty realistic stage performances that earned him respect: he played a drug addict in The Panic in Needle Park (1971) after his film debut in Me, Natalie (1969).

Alfredo James "Al" 'Pacino established himself as a film actor during one of cinema's most vibrant decades, the 1970s, and has become an enduring and iconic figure in the world of American movies.

Won two Tony Awards: as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?" (1969) and as Best Actor (Play) for "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" (1977).

Won the Best Actor Obie (awarded for the best Off-Broadway performances) for "The Indian Wants the Bronx" (1968). Was also nominated for a Best Actor Obie for "Why Is a Crooked Letter" (1966).

He made it into the prestigious Actors Studio in 1966, studying under Lee Strasberg, creator of the Method Approach that would become the trademark of many 1970s-era actors.

After appearing in a string of plays in supporting roles, Pacino finally attained success off-Broadway with Israel Horovitz's "The Indian Wants the Bronx", winning an Obie Award for the 1966-67 season.

Was arrested, charged with carrying a concealed weapon. [January 1961]

Turned down the role of Richard Sherman for a remake of The Seven Year Itch (1955) which was never filmed.

He and Jamie Foxx are two out of the only three actors to be nominated for an Academy Award for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in the same year. (Barry Fitzgerald did it first in 1945) Pacino was nominated in 1993 for Scent of a Woman (1992) and Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) / Foxx in 2005 for Ray (2004) and Collateral (2004). Both men won the Best Actor award, and they both played blind men in their roles: Pacino as Frank Slade and Foxx as Ray Charles.

He was voted the 41st Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

He was born April 25, 1940 in Manhattan, New York City, to Italian-American parents, Rose (nee Gerardi) and Sal Pacino. They divorced when he was young. His mother moved them into his grandparents' home in the South Bronx. Pacino found himself often repeating the plots and voices of characters he had seen in the movies. Bored and unmotivated in school, he found a haven in school plays, and his interest soon blossomed into a full-time career. Starting onstage, he went through a period of depression and poverty, sometimes having to borrow bus fare to succeed to auditions.