“He was absolutely out of his mind”: when Johnny Depp called Al Pacino certifiably insane
In Hollywood, the only thing funnier than one star calling another certifiably insane is when the star casting aspersions is equally mad as a box of frogs. This scenario befell Al Pacino on the set of one of his most acclaimed 1990s films when his eccentric co-star noted how much of an oddball the iconic Godfather star is.
Naturally, though, Pacino wouldn’t just take something like that lying down, even if it was meant affectionately. So, he pointed out that this star lived in a glass house and most definitely shouldn’t throw stones – although he used more, shall we say, colourful language.
In 1997, Pacino starred in a mob film that had been in development hell for the better part of a decade. He was intrigued by the idea of playing a character who was low down on the food chain in organised crime and was a much sadder, more crumpled version of the kind of gangster he’d played in The Godfather, Scarface and Carlito’s Way. The movie was Donnie Brasco, which co-starred Johnny Depp – and the weird stars quickly formed a bond over their shared peculiarities.
At a Santa Barbara International Film Festival Q&A, Depp admitted that he was intimidated by Pacino’s legendary status in the buildup to working with him. “This guy’s gonna hand me my ass,” Depp thought. “Because he looks like the kind of guy who’s gonna hand you your ass. It’s Al Pacino! So, I was fully expecting it.”
Almost as soon as he got on set with Pacino, though, Depp realised the star was known for being an intense method actor and that playing such intimidating characters was actually quirky as hell. “I can’t stand not being able to joke around on set and things like that,” Depp admitted. “So, I started pulling the gags on Al, and that was the moment I realised he was absolutely out of his mind.”
Depp didn’t elaborate on exactly how Pacino’s reaction to his gags made him so insane, but Pacino effectively confirmed it during a chat with Larry King – and turned the tables on Depp in the process. When asked about the Pirates of the Caribbean star, his eyes lit up, and he gushed, “As a person, I just loved him. I loved being with him because he made me laugh every day I was there. He’s really nuts, too. He’ll say I’m nuts, but he’s really nuts.”
Amusingly, Depp revealed he waited until about three weeks into Donnie Brasco before telling Pacino how different he was in person from how he’d imagined him. Depp claimed he said, “The one thing that I never expected or imagined was that that you’re actually – I mean – you’re actually certifiably insane.”
To this, he claimed Pacino fixed him with an inscrutable gaze and, with perfect comic timing, muttered, “Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. You didn’t know that?” He then sat around for another couple of beats, before adding the perfect button: “You’re pretty fucking strange yourself.”
Heartwarmingly, the two certifiable Hollywood crackpots forged an enduring friendship built on discovering they were kindred weirdo spirits. Depp told King that Pacino is all business when the cameras are rolling, describing him as “monumental,” but insisted that, away from the cameras, he’s “one of the funniest human beings I’ve ever known in my life.” Pacino reciprocated the mutual admiration society by declaring, “I love him. I love Johnny Depp.”
However, even though both stars love to talk about how their pal is crazy in a fun way, it’s evident that their affinity runs deeper than that. In 2024, after agreeing to star in the beleaguered Depp’s controversial directorial effort Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness, Pacino confessed, “I have a few people like that that I can say, ‘They’re my friends.'” For Pacino, then, the bond with Depp is very real.
