57 Timeless Quotes By Al Pacino
Alfredo James Pacino, popularly known as Al Pacino, is a prolific American actor, film-maker, script writer. Starting off from humble beginnings in theatres, the watershed moment in his career arrived after he portrayed the role of Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's ‘The Godfather’ trilogy. He gained international recognition and critical acclaim for his role in the trilogy and is regarded as one of the best on screen performances in film history. He also played significant roles in movies such as The Insider, Insomnia, Heat, Scarface and Carlito's Way. His endless list of accolades includes Academy Award, Tony Award, Primetime Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and the National Medal of Arts. Pacino is also a celebrated theatre artist and director. He received the Tony Awards for his performance in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel. Pacino holds the “Triple Crown of Acting” as he’s one of the only few actors to win the Oscars, the Emmy and the Tony Awards. We have collected some of the most famous and iconic quotes by Al Pacino from his movies and dialogues, interviews and observations. Here are some of the most enlightening quotes from this legend of American cinema.
I always tell the truth. Even when I lie.
The hardest thing about being famous is that people are always nice to you. You're in a conversation and everybody's agreeing with what you're saying - even if you say something totally crazy. You need people who can tell you what you don't want to hear.
I'm so shy now I wear sunglasses everywhere I go.
I don't need bodyguards. I'm from the South Bronx.
I don't think actors should ever expect to get a role, because the disappointment is too great. You've got to think of things as an opportunity. An audition's an opportunity to have an audience.
I don't ever give my opinion. Opinions I have about anything are in my personal life.
I'm an actor, not a star. Stars are people who live in Hollywood and have heart-shaped swimming pools.
The problem with me is, I guess, the way I express myself, you have to be with me 50 years before you can get a sense of what I'm talking about.
Most everybody who's Italian is half Italian. Except me. I'm all Italian. I'm mostly Sicilian, and I have a little bit of Neapolitan in me. You get your full dose with me.
There has been a lot of self-doubt and unwelcome events in my life.
In America most everybody who's Italian is half Italian. Except me. I'm all Italian. I'm mostly Sicilian, and I have a little bit of Neapolitan in me. You get your full dose with me.
I've never cared for guns. In fact, when I did 'Scent of a Woman' I had to learn how to assemble one.
Theater for me at one point was a lifestyle, too.
Jamie Foxx does a good rendition of me. It's a real gift, mimicry of that kind, the tonal thing. It's sort of like having a talent for playing an instrument.
Money makes your life easier. If you're lucky to have it, you're lucky.
The truth is, you know, we need our anodynes. You know that word, anodynes? We need that in life some times. A good warm bath can be one for you, or a whatever.
My first language was shy. It's only by having been thrust into the limelight that I have learned to cope with my shyness.
The actor becomes an emotional athlete. The process is painful - my personal life suffers.
You'll never be alone if you’ve got a book.
When I was younger, I would go to auditions to have the opportunity to audition, which would mean another chance to get up there and try out my stuff, or try out what I learned and see how it worked with an audience, because where are you gonna get an audience?
I used to wear disguises, like hats and false beards, just to walk around and avoid attention.
You need some insecurity if you're an actor. It keeps the pot boiling. I haven't yet started to think about retiring. I was shocked when I heard about Paul Newman retiring at age 82. Most actors just fade away like old soldiers.
Playing a character is an illusion, and I feel that when you know too much about a person, possibly part of that illusion is disrupted.
I've never liked the recognition, the questions, the publicity. I have often felt like running away and hiding.
I remember acting in a school play about the melting pot when I was very little. There was a great big pot onstage. On the other side of the pot was a little girl who had dark hair, and she and I were representing the Italians. And I thought: Is that what an Italian looked like?
When my mother got home from work, she would take me to the movies. It was her way of getting out, and she would take me with her. I'd go home and act all the parts. It had a tremendous influence on my becoming an actor.
Francis Ford Coppola did this early on. You tape a movie, like a radio show, and you have the narrator read all the stage directions. And then you go back like a few days later and then you listen to the movie. And it sort of plays in your mind like a film, like a first rough cut of a movie.
Shakespeare's plays are more violent than 'Scarface.'
I've always been in the theater. I've always gone to it. That's been my way to cope. Early on in my career, I remember running - fleeing - to the theater as a way of coping with all the meshugaas that was going on for me.
At this point in my career, I don't have to deal with audition rejections. So I get my rejection from other things. My children can make me feel rejected. They can humble you pretty quick.
