21 Little-known Facts About…. Al Pacino

Up close & personal

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In a career spanning five decades, Al Pacino has starred in countless iconic roles for both the screen and stage and his powerful and often intense performances are always memorable. Here are some facts of one of the all-time great American actor.

01 Alfredo James Pacino was born on April 25, 1940, in East Harlem, in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.

02 Pacino’s formative years were spent in the Bronx. He moved there with his mother following the divorce of his parents when he was just two years old.

03 Pacino dropped out of high school at 17, a decision that disappointed his mother and ultimately, led to Pacino leaving the family home. To support himself and his acting training, Pacino took on odd jobs as a messenger, janitor, busboy, postal clerk, and mailroom employee in a magazine office.

04 Pacino studied at the Herbert Berghof Studio acting school in New York City and the renowned Actors Studio, where he learned the principles of method acting under famed acting teacher Lee Strasberg. During this time, he was often unemployed and homeless and sometimes slept on the street, in theaters, or at friends’ houses.

05 Al Pacino was fired from his job as a movie theater usher while walking down the staircase and admiring himself in the mirrored wall.