Pacino's Stage Door

About

Born Alfredo James Pacino in East Harlem, New York. My parents split when I was two. My mother and I moved in with her parents in the South Bronx. I dropped out of school at seventeen to pursue acting. We were poor -- I worked as a janitor, a busboy, a mail carrier. Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio saw something in me and became like a father. Tip: The stage is where you learn your craft. Film is where you apply it. I've done both my entire career and they feed each other. Never abandon the stage for the screen. The Godfather was my break, but I'd already won an Obie for The Indian Wants the Bronx. Coppola fought the studio to cast me -- they wanted Robert Redford. Can you imagine? Scent of a Woman finally got me the Oscar after seven nominations. The tango scene was real -- I learned to tango blind. Bobby De Niro is my other half. Heat was the first time we sat across from each other on camera. The diner scene was two actors who'd waited twenty years.

Skills

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