The horror moment that landed Michelle Pfeiffer the ‘Scarface’ role: “there was blood everywhere”
While the phenomenal acting quality of Michelle Pfeiffer is evident in her performances in The Witches of Eastwick, Batman Returns, Dangerous Liaisons and the Age of Innocence, it’s hard to look beyond her mesmerising effort in Brian De Palma’s 1983 crime drama Scarface, in which she played alongside Al Pacino, as her crowning achievement.
Pfeiffer’s portrayal of Elvira Hancock in the classic movie serves as the standout moment in the actor’s excellent filmography. She delivered one of her finest on-screen appearances with a sense of the femme fatale, combined with a magnetic blend of glamour and vulnerability of the cocaine-addicted wife of Tony Montana.
There’s a complexity to Elvira that constantly bubbles beneath the surface as she balances a life of excess and disillusionment with wealth. When Pfeiffer appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, she explained the strange audition process that led to her getting the role, an experience which nearly went very wrong.
“Well, I guess my most famous one, even though it actually, I think, got me the job,” Pfeiffer began. “I did a screen test for Scarface, and Al [Pacino] was in the screen test. It was the end scene, the restaurant scene where I kind of blow my stack, and then that’s the last time you ever see me. And I stood up, and I waved my hands, and it went really well.”
Naturally, with all her talent, Pfeiffer impressed Pacino, De Palma and the film’s producers. But unknown to her, during the screen test, an accident might have caused her to throw her audition into jeopardy.
The actor continued: “It was one of those things where it just took, and when we cut, I looked around, and there was blood everywhere. Of course, everyone came running over to me because I broke glasses, and they just went flying, and dishes went flying. Everyone came over, and they were looking and looking, and they couldn’t find any cuts [on me] and couldn’t figure out where the blood was coming from.”
If Pfeiffer had been confused as to what was happening, then it would have been more than understandable, but it quickly became clear where the blood was coming from. “Then we looked over, and it was coming from Al Pacino!” Pfeiffer explained. “I had cut Al Pacino in my screen test!”
The actor must have thought that she’d screwed up her chance to star in the iconic Brian De Palma film, but for some reason, Pacino had been impressed by Pfeiffer. It turns out actually cutting the actor had left her all the more memorable, especially considering the kind of relationship their two characters were supposed to have.
She signed off, “Of course, I was mortified, but I actually think that’s what endeared me to him.”
