The co-star who disgusted Al Pacino: “That’s why he’s always late”
For decades now, the gruff New Yorker Al Pacino has epitomised what it means to be a great actor, putting him at the top of many creatives’ bucket lists.
He’s won awards, topped the box office, and played some of the biggest characters in fiction. As more and more of the stars of yesteryear fade away, having someone like him still around and still working provides a key link to the past, so no wonder everyone and their mums want to say they’ve worked with him.
Although we can’t say for sure about his mum, one person who’s definitely on that list is Keanu Reeves, a certified Pacino superfan, so imagine his delight when he was cast alongside him in the 1997 film The Devil’s Advocate, which saw the star of The Matrix play a lawyer taking a job at a high-flying firm and begin to suspect that his boss, played by Pacino is the literal Devil. For Reeves, this was everything he’d dreamed of and more; if only the same could be said for his colleague…
According to a Los Angeles Times piece written while the movie was still in production, not everything was running smoothly on The Devil’s Advocate. As well as reportedly falling out with the project’s director, Taylor Hackford, its star player also seemingly had a massive problem with his scene partner.
“Keanu is a sweet guy and may be a star, but he’s screwing up his lines right and left,” the paper claimed, ascribing this quote to merely a ‘source’ from inside the project, noting, “The accent is so bad there’s been talk of dubbing it in. It’s driving Pacino nuts. Everyone suspects Al is disgusted, wants out, and that’s why he’s always late.”
News of The Godfather star turning up late to set was a regular feature of reports about the film, and it didn’t help that the picture had already faced several delays, due to early firings of a cinematographer and assistant director. As for Reeves, this wouldn’t be the only time he was accused of not being up to scratch, as his turn as Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula is regularly cited as one of the worst performances in an otherwise brilliant movie, with his accent being a major sticking point. Sure, everyone loves him these days, but there was a time when his reputation was far from stellar.
It’s worth noting that Pacino and members of his camp denied that he wasn’t satisfied, with producer Arnold Kopelson saying, “With respect to Al being unhappy, I have not heard any of this. Keanu is very serious about being the best he can be in this movie. He does not flub his lines. He is supposed to be from the South and has a slight accent.”
Hackford has also come to Pacino’s defence, claiming that the Oscar winner was nothing but professional, and while we’ll never know for sure what went down on the set of The Devil’s Advocate, it must have been heartbreaking for poor Keanu. Imagine waiting your entire life to meet your hero, only to hear from some anonymous insider that they hate you; now that is prime trauma material that’s right up there with having your pet dog killed by burglars in your home.
