Sonny Boy: A Memoir

Al Pacino is an award-winning American actor and director. Born in 1940, Pacino was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents in the Bronx. As a child, Pacino grew up in poverty as his family tried to make ends meet, living in a tenement building and often sharing rooms with others. After dropping out of high school and enduring his mother and grandfather’s untimely deaths, Pacino dedicated himself to acting, first at the Herbert Berghof Studio as a student, and then as a working theater actor in off-Broadway and Broadway productions in New York City.

Pacino also enjoyed a stint in repertory theater in Boston before beginning to star in small films. His breakthrough role came in 1972 when he was cast as Michael Corleone in The Godfather. Pacino initially struggled with being in the spotlight, preferring to act in stage productions and keeping a distance from Hollywood. However, he was continually drawn back to film acting and is best known for his performances in Scarface, Heat, and Scent of a Woman. Pacino remains a respected actor and is now a co-president of the Actor’s Studio.