Al Pacino’s career in the ‘70s was set to new heights after his role as a heroin addict in The Panic in Needle Park (1971) caught the eye of Francis Ford Coppola, who cast him as Michael Corleone in the crime film The Godfather (1972), the role and the movie that brought Pacino to stardom. Within this decade, Pacino earned four consecutive Academy Award acting nominations for The Godfather (1972), Serpico (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), and Dog Day Afternoon (1975), won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Scarecrow (1973), and one Tony Award for Best Leading Actor for The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (1977).
At the 46th Academy Awards at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 1974. (Michael Montfort)
However, in a recent interview with the Daily Beast, Pacino admitted that he had no recollection of the ‘70s, as he was struggling with the dazzling fame during his younger years. “I am very grateful that I was around, especially in the 70s, which were kind of a renaissance,” said Pacino. “But man, I have no memory of the 70s! You have to understand, I was in another world! I didn’t know what was going on. But I am glad it worked out.”
Below are 24 photographs of a young Pacino during the 1970s:
1970s. (Roy Jones)
New York, 1970s. (Art Zelin)
With Diane Keaton on the set of ‘The Godfather,’ 1972. (Steve Schapiro)
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