Al Pacino shares details of financial problems: “I was broke”
During the later period of Al Pacino‘s acting career, he began making some rather unexpected film choices, like starring in Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill. Now, he has finally revealed that during this time, he had no money.
The actor rose to prominence in the 1970s and established himself as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, appearing in beloved movies like The Godfather series, Serpico, and Dog Day Afternoon. In the following decades, Pacino retained his star power, winning an Oscar for his performance in Scent of a Woman and appearing in iconic movies like Scarface, Carlito’s Way and Heat.
Yet, in 2011, he discovered issues with his accountant which had led to him accruing a financial black role. As a result, Pacino ended up losing $50million in savings, leaving him “broke.” His accountant ended up in prison, serving a seven-and-a-half year sentence for being involved in a Ponzi scheme.
Meanwhile, Pacino was scrambling to make some money in order to maintain his lifestyle. He ended up accepting roles in movies that offered him large amounts of cash rather than choosing parts based on if he connected to the character. In his new memoir, Sonny Boy, the actor reveals how he had to take jobs he never would have before.
After spending “a ridiculous amount of money,” Pacino realised that his finances hadn’t dropped very much, leaving him suspicious. “And I thought, It’s simple. It’s clear. I just know this. Time stopped. I am fucked,” he wrote.
Pacino explained that he went from having millions to having an empty bank account, sharing, “I was broke. I had $50 million, and then I had nothing. I had property, but I didn’t have any money.” Thus, the first role he ended up signing on after his financial crisis was Jack and Jill.
“To be honest, I did it because I didn’t have anything else. Adam Sandler wanted me, and they paid me a lot for it. So I went out and did it, and it helped,” he revealed. Before then, Pacino picked out his roles if he felt a certain kinship with them. He “was doing films if I thought I related to the part and felt I could bring something.”
Pacino was 70 when he lost his money. He wrote about how hard he found this period of his life. “I wasn’t a young buck, and I was not going to be making the kind of money from acting in films that I had made before. The big paydays that I was used to just weren’t coming around anymore. The pendulum had swung, and I found it harder to find parts for myself,” he wrote.
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