Why Al Pacino likes starring in terrible movies: “I’m starting to get a little perverse”
No actor has a perfect filmography. Even the biggest names in Hollywood have had their fair share of box office failures and critical flops. Often, those missteps come early into an actor’s career, way before they’ve built up a reputation and found their place in the industry. Leonardo DiCaprio debuted in the poorly received direct-to-video Critters 3, while Tom Hanks’ first feature was the widely criticised He Knows You’re Alone. But for Al Pacino, some of the worst entries into his filmography are also his most recent.
Pacino’s career started off strong. After a small debut film role in Me, Natalie, he landed his first leading character position in The Panic in Needle Park in 1971. Just one year later, he was starring in Francis Ford Coppola’s epic classic The Godfather. Obtaining an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actor’, Pacino went on to star in two Godfather sequels, Dog Day Afternoon and Scarface.
Many of Pacino’s early films are now considered classics, but the actor began to expand his filmography with the dawn of a new century. Rather than sticking to critically acclaimed gangster series and trusted directors, Pacino has starred in a string of critical and commercial flops. From the 2003 rom-com Gigli to the Adam Sandler comedy Jack and Jill, Pacino’s filmography now comprises some of the best and worst films of all time.
With such an impressive acting resume to his name, it’s surprising that Pacino doesn’t pick his projects more wisely. He doesn’t need the money or the experience, so why does he take roles in terrible films? The actor explained his thought process in an interview with GQ alongside Robert De Niro.
Discussing why they say yes to specific projects, De Niro first explained: “Sometimes it’s just financial. You do something, and you get paid well, and you say, ‘I’m gonna make it work.’ Or, ‘There will be things that will be good about it.’ And I’ve done that – when I was a young actor, and I had to do stuff, I was lucky I got the part… You don’t always have the luxury of working in a situation like with Marty or David O. Russell or Francis Coppola or Barry Levinson. Nothing against the other directors. But you take your chances.”
But Pacino certainly isn’t a young actor who finds himself taking projects out of necessity anymore. Instead, he takes less polished projects to see if he can fix them up: “You know what? I may be falling into a bad habit now. I think I’m starting to get a little perverse. I’m starting to want to do films that aren’t really very good and try to make them better. And that’s become my challenge.”
He continued to explain his thought process, sharing: “Sometimes they offer you money to do something that’s not adequate. And you talk yourself into it. And somewhere within you, you know that this thing is gonna be a lemon. But then, when it comes full circle, and you see it, you say, ‘Oh, no. I’m gonna make this better’.”
Pacino noted that, in his efforts to make those projects better, he finds himself excited when he is able to save them from complete failure and push them into mediocrity. Still, it’s a habit he’s looking to break. He concludes, “It’s an impulse that I’ve got to just put that away now. ‘Every time I get the urge to exercise, I lie down till it passes’.”
