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From portraying a mob don and an AIDS-stricken attorney to a comic strip villain and a Nazi hunter, Al Pacino has done it all. In honor of his long and distinguished career (and his 80th birthday), we offer up this retrospect that showcases his expansive diversity.
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“N.Y.P.D” (1968) • A then 28-year-old Pacino made his TV debut on this ABC police procedural plan the victim of a shooting.
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“Me, Natalie” (1971) • Pacino had a small role in this film starring Patty Duke about a girl who struggles with her appearance.
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“The Panic in Needle Park” (1971) • Pacino played a small-town crook leading a woman down a path of heroin addiction. His work in this film caught the eye of director Francis Ford Coppola.
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“The Godfather” (1971) • Coppola cast him as Michael Corleone — for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination. Need we say more?
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“Serpico” (1973) • Pacino earned his second Oscar nomination playing New York City policeman Frank Serpico, who goes undercover to expose corruption within the NYPD.
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“The Godfather: Part II” (1974) • Oscar nod No. 3 came reprising his role as Michael Corleone and what Newsweek called “arguably cinema’s greatest portrayal of the hardening of a heart.”
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“Dog Day Afternoon” (1975) • And Oscar nomination No. 4, this time playing real-life bank robber John Wojtowicz.
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“And Justice for All” (1979) • Oscar nod No. 5 came for his work in this courtroom drama.
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“Author! Author!” (1982) • This comedy-drama directed by Arthur Hiller about a Broadway playwright was panned by critics…
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“Scarface” (1983) • … So he returned to crime dramas like this one directed by Brian De Palma and what many consider a defining role in his career.
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“Revolution” (1985) • Playing a fur trapper pulled into the American Revolution didn’t register with critics or Pacino fans.
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Sea of Love (1989) • In this neo-noir thriller, Pacino plays a burned-out detective on the hunt for a serial killer who finds their victims through a singles column. Ellen Barkin is his sexy leading lady, who is either the perp… or the next casualty.
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“Dick Tracy” (1990) • Critic Roger Ebert described Pacino as a “scene-stealer” in his role as Big Boy Caprice (pictured with Madonna) in this Warren Beatty-directed film, which earned him, yes, an Oscar nomination.
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“The Godfather: Part III” (1990) • The third time was not the charm in this franchise.
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“Frankie and Johnny” (1991) • Appearing opposite Michelle Pfeiffer, who also appeared with him in “Scarface,” Pacino plays a recently paroled cook who begins a romance with a waitress.
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“Glengarry Glen Ross” (1992) • Pacino became the first actor to earn two Oscar nominations the same year, for different films, first for playing Richard “Ricky” Roma, the top salesman in a real estate office…
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“Scent of a Woman” (1992) • … and also for playing blind U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (here with Gabrielle Anwar). He finally took home the Oscar for the supporting role, along with the catchphrase “Hoo-wah!”
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“Carlito’s Way” (1993) • With the help of his attorney (Sean Penn), gangster Carlito Brigante is released from prison and vows to go straight.
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“Heat” (1995) • The first time Pacino and Robert De Niro appeared on screen together. If that’s not a reason to watch Michael Mann’s crime film, nothing is.
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City Hall (1996) • Pacino plays an ambitious New York City mayor whose deputy (John Cusack) uncovers corruption where he least expects it after a young boy is accidentally shot and killed.
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“Donnie Brasco” (1997) • Pacino again took on a true story, playing real-life gangster “Lefty” to Johnny Depp’s undercover FBI agent.
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“The Devil’s Advocate” (1997) • Pacino played Satan himself in this supernatural thriller with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron.
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“The Insider” (1999) • Pacino plays “60 Minutes” producer Lowell Bergman opposite Russell Crowe’s chemist who comes under attack for exposing the tobacco industry.
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“Any Given Sunday” (1999) • Oliver Stone directed Pacino in this sports drama about a fictional professional football team and its veteran coach.
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“Insomnia” (2002) • Pacino plays a Los Angeles homicide detective sent to investigate a murder in Alaska, where the sun never sets. Robin Williams and Hilary Swank co-star.
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“Gigli” (2003) • Yes, Pacino was in this Jennifer Lopez-Ben Affleck production that many consider one of the worst films in history. He played a New York-based mob boss.
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“Angels in America” (2003) • Pacino won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of lawyer Roy Cohn in the HBO adaptation of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play about gay life in America.
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“Ocean’s Thirteen” (2007) • Once again, Pacino took on the role of a film’s antagonist, this time as a casino tycoon in the third film in the Ocean’s trilogy.
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“You Don’t Know Jack” (2010) • Pacino earned an Emmy Award and another Golden Globe for his portrayal of Jack Kevorkian, the physician-assisted suicide advocate, in this HBO Films biopic.
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“Phil Spector” (2013) • Three years later, Pacino was back at HBO in another biopic, this time playing record producer Phil Spector during his 2009 murder trial.
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“Paterno” (2018) • And again five years later, Pacino appeared in another HBO film — playing the Penn State football coach in the midst of a child sex abuse scandal.
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“Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” (2019) • Pacino plays casting agent Marvin Schwarz in Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning film that also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt.
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“The Irishman” (2019) • As Teamsters chief Jimmy Hoffa, Pacino appeared alongside Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in this 209-minute crime epic directed by Martin Scorsese.
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“Hunters” (2020) • In the Amazon Prime series, Pacino plays fictional Nazi hunter Meyer Offerman.