For his visceral yet utterly convincing style, Al Pacino (born Alfredo James Pacino) has become one of the most iconic and respected film stars of his generation.

Pacino, a New York City native raised in the Bronx, started his career in theater, namely, in the off-Broadway play "The Indian Wants the Bronx," winning the 1968 Obie Award for Best Actor.

He made his film debut in the disappointing Me, Natalie (1969), and two years later starred in The Panic in Needle Park (1971). Neither films were hits, but in the latter, Pacino's take on a heroin-addicted crook received critical praise and garnered him widespread attention. Still, when director Francis Ford Coppola tapped him to play Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972), studio executives balked at the relative newcomer who had done most of his work on stage. But The Godfather proved a runaway success, and Pacino's turn as the reluctant, brainy Mafia heir earned him an Oscar® nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Pacino then scored box-office hits with Serpico (1973) and The Godfather Part II (1974), as well as receiving his second and third Oscar.

After The Godfather Part II, Pacino then went on to star in an uneven string of films. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) was a success, but Bobby Deerfield (1977) and Author! Author! (1982) were not. He also starred in director William Freidkin's Cruising (1980) and received his fifth Oscar® nod for the dark criminal justice satire And Justice for All (1979), again to no avail.

In 1983, Pacino arguably took on his most memorable role: that of psychotic Cuban gangster Tony Montana in director Brian DePalma’s bombastic Scarface (1983). Initially, the film created controversy for its level of graphic violence, but this tale of the American dream gone awry soon developed an enduring cult following, with Pacino immortalizing the line, "Say hello to my little friend," which he utters when wielding his M-16 in the gruesome finale. 

After the box-office bomb Revolution (1985), Pacino took four years off. Upon his return, he again wowed audiences and critics in Sea of Love (1989), a steamy film noir tale in which Pacino plays a cop pursuing femme fatale Ellen Barkin, who may or may not be a serial killer. Pacino would then put out a staggering amount of work in the 90s. After 7 Oscar® nominations, he finally won an Academy Award for Scent of a Woman (1992), in which he plays a blind, brash army colonel bent on suicide. He also starred in the romantic comedy Frankie and Johnny (1991) and in The Godfather Part III (1990), and played a repentant criminal in DePalma's Carlito's Way (1993). In addition, his starring credits included Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Heat (1995), City Hall (1996), Donnie Brasco (1996), The Devil's Advocate (1997), Any Given Sunday (1999) and The Insider (1999). In 2002 alone, Pacino starred in 4 films, Insomnia, The Farm, People I know, and Simone. In 2003 Pacino headlines the thriller The Recruit.

Pacino was born on April 25, 1940, in New York City's East Harlem, and raised in the Bronx. He dropped out of the High School for Performing Arts before attending the Actor's Studio nominations respectively. 

Credit: amctv.com